Nabiha Farasat Khan, Mohammad Saeed, Saima Chaduhary, Farkhanda Ghafoor, Bilquees A Suleman, Ayyaz Ali Khan, Muhammad Aasim.
Frequency, Severity and Site of Oral Ulcers and Hematinic Deficiencies..
J Pak Dent Assoc Jan ;21(3):157-60.

OBJECTIVE Recurrent aphthous stomatitis or RAS is a chronic oral ulcer of unknown etiology which affects about 50% of the world population. Pakistan is a developing country where Nutritional anemia is common. The purpose of the study was to identify the effect of hematinic deficiencies (Hemoglobin, Hematocrit, B-12, Ferritin and Folate) in subjectswithRAS and the frequency site and severity ofRAS in these Patients METHODOLOGY It was anAnalytical Cross-Sectional study carried out in Dental Department, Shaikh Zayed FPGMI, Lahore from February-July 2008. Sixty subjects with active RAS during last six months were recruited. Proformawas filled by asking the subjects about the severity and frequency of their ulcers. To check site of aphthae, ulcers were clinically examined. Blood samples were taken. Radio-Immuno-Assay (B12 and Folate) and Enzyme Linked Immuno Sorbant Assay (Ferritin) was carried out. Association between hematological parameters characteristic ofRASwas done usingChi-square test. RESULTS Buccal and labial mucosa was most frequently affected (23.3%) followed by the tongue (21.7%). Severely painful ulcers were observed in 93% (n=56) of the study subjects. Deficiency Vit B-12 and RBC folate were significantly associated (p<0.01) with severity of ulcer while deficiency of serum Ferritin was significantly associated (0.03)with frequency of ulcers, in the present study. CONCLUSION Hematological parameters studied are associated with site of occurrence of RAS and its severity in the present study population.

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