Oral pyogenic granuloma: a retrospective analysis of 293 cases in a Brazilian population

The purpose of this study was to retrospectively analyze the clinical, demographic, and pathologic properties of oral pyogenic granuloma occurring in a Brazilian population.

We retrieved an archival number of 293 cases that were diagnosed as having oral pyogenic granuloma at the Service of Pathological Anatomy, Discipline of Oral Pathology, Department of Dentistry, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil, during a 38-year period, from 1970 to 2008. The records were reviewed, and information on gender, age, race, lesion site, predisposing factors, clinical features, and clinical diagnosis, treatment, and recurrence was collected.

There was a female predilection, and the female-to-male ratio was 2.38:1. The mean age of the patients was 27 years. A high degree of occurrence was observed in the second decade of life. White patients were most commonly affected (44.7%). The most frequently involved site was the gingiva (83%), with a higher prevalence in the maxilla. The majority of cases were symptomatic and showed bleeding; the lesions were described as nodules (71.9%) with a soft consistency (62.3%) and a red surface (73.2%). The base was pedunculated in 61.1% of cases, and the mean size was 1.3 cm. The recurrence rate was 8.2% of cases.

The clinical, demographic, and pathologic features of oral pyogenic granuloma in the Brazilian population in this study were similar to those in studies of populations from other countries.