Oral lesions among persons with HIV disease with and without highly active antiretroviral therapy in southern India

BACKGROUND: The advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has changed the scenario of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. HIV patients in India have now access to generic HAART and this is the first report describing oral lesions in patients on HAART from our country. METHODS: Oral lesions were studied in HIV seropositive patients (n = 50 on HAART and n = 50 not on HAART) attending a tertiary HIV referral care centre in India and patients on HAART were followed up. RESULTS: There was a difference in the occurrence of oral candidiasis (OC) between HAART and non-HAART participants (8%, 24%; P < 0.05). Pseudomembranous candidiasis was 4% and 18% in HAART and non-HAART groups respectively (P < 0.05). In patients with CD4 count <= 200, OC was 5.6% in the HAART group and 39.1% in the non-HAART group (P < 0.05). Among patients with CD4 count > 200, pigmentation was 43.8% in the HAART group and 14.8% in the non-HAART group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of OC in patients who had access to HAART was less when compared with those who did not have access to HAART.