Maryam Aslam, Joharia Azhar, Eefa Tabassum.
Clinical evaluation of xerostomia in patients infected with chronic hepatitis C virus.
Pak Oral Dental J Jan ;34(4):624-8.

The objective of this study was to clinically evaluate the prevalence of xerostomia in chronic hepatitis C patients. This cross sectional study observed 77 patients from December 2010 to April 2011 at the Military Hospital Rawalpindi, the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences Islamabad, and the Margalla Institute of Dentistry Rawalpindi. Xerostomia was evaluated both objectively and subjectively. Whole unstimulated salivary flow rates were measured using graduated tubes. Out of 77 patients, 40 (51.9%) were male and 37 (48.1%) were female. 70.1% patients had clinical xerostomia based on objective and subjective evaluations. 77.9% patients had xerostomia based on sialometry. Sialometry is a reliable tool for clinical evaluation of xerostomia. A chi-square test was used to evaluate the association of xerostomia and treatment therapy for hepatitis. Results were statistically significant (P<0.05). Xerostomia can be a frequent finding in patients infected with HCV so providing the adequate dental treatment for such individuals needs to be well understood by the dental professionals as there is a significant reduction in salivary flow, which is likely to result in oral diseases.

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