[Infections of the oral mucosa caused by herpes simplex virus]

Recapitulation of our knowledge dealing with diagnosis and therapy of oral mucosal diseases caused by HSV.

Analysis of a sample of 135 patients coming from Department of Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine in Hradec Králové within 11 years. Statistical evaluation of the data and related associations (clinical diagnosis, age, gender, general health status, treatment mode) were realized by ANOVA analysis, t-test, and Fisher's exact test.

A total sample of 135 individuals (81 women and 54 men) consisted of 49 individuals with primary herpetic gingivostomatitis (37 %) and recurrences with clinical signs of herpetic stomatitis in 68 patients (50 %) and labial herpes simplex in 18 patients (13 %) aged from 1 to 90 years, mean age 40.4 year, with maximal occurrence in the 3rd and 7th decades. The mean age of individuals with herpetic gingivostomatitis was significantly lower (p = 0.0001). The occurrence of herpetic stomatitis was associated with severe concomitant diseases (p = 0,0001). Topical treatment was applied in 73 individuals (54 %), combined mode in 58 individuals (43 %), only systemic therapy in 4 individuals (3 %). In most of individuals with herpetic gingivostomatitis only topical treatment was used (80 %, in most of herpetic recurrences combined therapy was applied (62 %).

The age of individuals with primary infection and herpetic recurrences was significantly different. Herpetic stomatitis occurred often as an opportunistic viral infection in seriously ill and older patients. Antiseptics with antiviral properties and their combinations with systemic administration of antiviral drugs proved successfully in the treatment.