Characterization of oral lichen planus in a subset of patients: A single-center experience

Abstract

Introduction: Lichen planus (LP) is a common chronic, mucocutaneous inflammatory disorder with unclear pathophysiology. The aim was to describe the epidemiology and clinicopathological characteristics of oral lichen planus (OLP) patients at King Abdulaziz University Dental Hospital (KAUDH) in Jeddah. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective, chart-review study which included OLP patients previously seen at KAUDH from June 2012 to June 2018. Demographic data, clinical features, management, and outcome were collected and analyzed. Diagnosis of LP was done using clinical criteria with or without histopathologic diagnosis, and the scoring system by Escudier et al. was used. Results: Fifty patients with a mean age of 48 years (range: 21–71) and 2.5:1 female-to-male ratio were included in this study. The most concomitant systemic diseases were diabetes mellitus (30%) and hypertension (26%). Reticular OLP was the most common form (98%), followed by erythematous (66%), ulcerative (26%), and plaque-like type (8%). More than half of the patients were asymptomatic (64%), whereas twenty-two symptomatic patients were managed with either topical steroids, a combination of topical and systemic steroids, and/or intralesional steroid injections with 68% improvement. Conclusion: Based on the current data, clinical features at KAUDH matched what has been previously reported in the literature. In addition, the response to different treatment modalities varied between patients which could be linked to factors such as disease extension and severity.