Relationship between oral lesions and severe SARS‐CoV‐2 infection in intensive care unit patients

Abstract

ObjectiveOral lesions received increased attention as likely new signs or secondary manifestations of COVID‐19. Therefore, we clinically examined oral cavity of patients with COVID‐19 and investigated oral lesions and patient comorbidities as possible risk factors of COVID‐19 disease outcome.MethodsFrom January to March 2022, a prospective study was conducted by recruiting all COVID‐19 patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit and Respiratory Intensive Care Unit of Maxi‐Emergencies Hospital in Bari, Italy.ResultsFrom the enrolled 103 COVID‐19 patients, 46.6% were females and 53.4% were males. Findings show that risk of presenting with severe COVID‐19 disease was higher in patients who developed oral lesions related to COVID‐19 than those with no oral lesions (RR = 7.998, p = .002). Next, patients with concomitant autoimmune diseases were at higher risk of a negative COVID‐19 disease outcome than those without comorbidities (OR = 8.838, p = .026).ConclusionsCOVID‐19‐related lesions of oral mucosa should not be ignored as they can be early and easily detectable signs of severe COVID‐19 disease condition, thus, serving as a prevention measure for any potential unfortunate event. Findings of this study, without implying causation, offer a direction for future investigations that aim to confirm the presence of specific oral lesions in COVID‐19 patients as signs of severe disease progression.

COVID-19 and Oral Lichen Planus: Between an “Intriguing Plot” and the “Fata Morgana Effect”

“…The virus enters target cells through the interaction between the spike protein (S protein) and the ACE2 receptor [6,9], and TMPRSS2 plays a priming role in this process [5]. Therefore, this specific tropism manifests through the development of oral cavity pathologies [10][11][12] and other maxillofacial conditions, such as the wellknown association with mucormycosis [13,14]. Indeed, during SARS-CoV-2 infection, the oral mucosa can serve as a potential route for the virus, and regional pathologies in the oral cavity may arise [15][16][17].…”