Oral manifestations associated with COVID-19 disease: An observational cross sectional study

Jitendra Chawla; Navaneeth Y; Satvinder Singh Bakshi; Vinoth Kumar Kalidoss; Shikha Yadav; Swapnika Polineni; Cheranjeevi Jayam

doi:10.1016/j.jobcr.2022.03.008

Oral manifestations associated with COVID-19 disease: An observational cross sectional study

J Oral Biol Craniofac Res. 2022 Mar-Apr;12(2):279-283. doi: 10.1016/j.jobcr.2022.03.008. Epub 2022 Mar 19.

Authors

Jitendra Chawla¹, Navaneeth Y¹, Satvinder Singh Bakshi², Vinoth Kumar Kalidoss³, Shikha Yadav¹, Swapnika Polineni¹, Cheranjeevi Jayam¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Dentistry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Mangalagiri, 522503 , India.
² Department of ENT, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Mangalagiri, 522503, India.
³ Department of Community and Family Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Mangalagiri, 522503, India.

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of present study was to investigate oral manifestations associated with COVID-19 disease.

Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study comprised 367 suspects with mild/moderate COVID-19 symptoms who reported to a tertiary care hospital's screening OPD. An in-depth case history was taken, and an oral cavity examination was performed to detect any oral findings. All participants were tested for SARS-CoV-2 using a naso-pharyngeal swab and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction.Oral manifestations and the results of RT-PCR testing were correlated. Statistical analyses were performed using Epi Info and R software. To estimate the prevalence of oral symptoms, the Pearson chi-square test was used.

Results: Oral manifestations were found in 58% of the study population. The difference in the prevalence of oral manifestations between RT-PCR positive COVID-19 patients versus RT-PCR negative suspects was statistically significant (p = 0.007) with xerostomia and dysgeusia being significantly higher in positive patients (p = 0.036 and p = 0.044 respectively) while the prevalence of stomatopyrosis and other intraoral signs was insignificant.

Conclusion: Xerostomia and dysgeusia are the common oral manifestations of COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19 disease; Dysgeusia; Oral manifestations; RT-PCR; SARS-CoV-2; Stomatopyrosis; Xerostomia.