[Frequency of oral candidiasis in stem cell transplant patients]

This study included 80 persons with haematological malignancies receiving stem cell transplantation (SCT) who were followed up for a period of 24 months. Authors focused on the patients' oral health state and on the correlation between the fungal colonisation of the oral cavity and the unstimulated whole saliva flow rate, before and after the stem cell transplantation. Carious teeth could be detected in 20 out of the 80 persons, although all of them were examined and treated by their dentists before taking part in the SCT program. Fungal colonization could be shown in 16 patients before the conditioning phase and in 19 subjects during the aplasia phase of SCT. Hyposalivation (unstimulated whole saliva flow rate < or = 0.1 mI/min) was detected in 28 patients. In conclusion there was a higher incidence of Candida albicans and other fungal colonization in SCT patients suffering from hyposalivation than in those of normal saliva flow rate.