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Fungal load and candidiasis in Sjögren's syndrome
Lida Radfar1, Yvonne Shea, Steven H Fischer
1State Univeristy of New York, Buffalo, NY 14214, USA.
Objective:
We sought to investigate the prevalence of Candida carriage and the relationships between salivary flow rates and oral Candida load in patients with Sjögren's syndrome (SS).
Methods:
The oral Candida load of patients with SS was evaluated by culturing oral rinse (swish and spit) samples. Culture, Gram stain, and wet-mount test results were reported.
Results:
One hundred three patients (96 women) met European criteria for SS (91 with primary SS and 12 with secondary SS). The mean age (95% confidence interval) was 55 years (range, 51-57 years). Oral rinse cultures were positive in 77% of subjects. The total stimulated salivary flow rate was inversely correlated with oral Candida load (r = -0.47; P
Conclusions:
The prevalence of Candida carriage varies according to the methods used to determine the presence of the organism and is similar to that reported in the literature. A low stimulated salivary flow rate-not a low unstimulated flow rate-was associated with Candida carriage.