Apical periodontitis as potential source of infection in patients with lymphoma treated with chemotherapy

To investigate signs of infection and infection-related complications of apical periodontitis (AP) in patients who underwent chemotherapy for lymphoma.

Data were collected retrospectively from the dental and medical records of patients receiving chemotherapy for lymphoma. Based on the findings from a dental evaluation made in conjunction with chemotherapy, the patients were divided into two groups, patients with or without teeth with AP.

Eighty-six of the 213 patients had one or more teeth with AP and received no planned dental treatment for this condition, while 127 patients had no AP-affected teeth. During chemotherapy, seven patients (8%) developed local symptoms related to teeth with AP, while no patients in the control group developed symptoms of AP. No significant differences were found with respect to the administration of antibiotics related to dental infection or hospital admission events due to fever or infection, between the group with AP and the group without AP.

AP is a common finding and exacerbation seems more common in patients diagnosed with chronic AP than in patients without chronic AP. The presence of chronic AP in patients treated with chemotherapy for lymphoma is not linked to additional medical complications that require hospital admission owing to fever/infection.

Knowledge regarding infection-related complications of AP in patients with lymphoma treated with chemotherapy will guide clinical decision-making by identifying those patients who warrant treatment. This will allow dental interventions to be postponed until completion of chemotherapy, without serious medical complications. The results of this study serve as a basis for larger prospective studies.