Oral manifestations related to malaria: A systematic review

Abstract

Objective: To generalize the oral manifestations related to malaria and discuss their clinical significance for health professionals.

Materials and methods: The bibliographic databases of Public MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science and Scopus were employed to retrieve publications online from January 1781 to August 2019. Original research articles, clinical trials, and case reports published in English were included.

Results: A small number of studies reported oral manifestations of malaria (n = 29), including gingival bleeding, glossitis, oral ulcer, abnormal oral pigmentation, pericoronitis, herpes labialis, herpes gingivostomatitis, bitter taste, sore throat, Burkitt lymphoma of the jaw, alveolar bone resorption, and enamel hypoplasia.

Conclusion: Oral manifestations may be important indicators for identification of malaria. Dental and general professionals should pay more attention to oral manifestations in malaria cases, and guide them for specialized examination, diagnosis, and management.

Keywords: clinical management; malaria; oral manifestations.