Plasma fibrinogen degradation products with salivary coagulopathy in OSMF among Indians.

Oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) produces changes localized to oral cavity. Hence, it is reasonable to assume that saliva may have an important role in its etiology. This prospective case control study included 37 patients with OSMF which were compared with age and gender matched healthy controls. Salivary coagulopathy procedures as described by Chatuvedi et al. and quantification of plasma fibrinogen degradation products using a commercially available kit were carried out. The obtained data was analyzed using Chi-square tests and Tukey HSD test. The salivary coagulopathy was strongly indicated in saliva of OSMF patients and was dependent on the severity of disease. There were also increased levels of plasma fibrinogen degradation products compared to the controls and were found to have a statistically significant correlation with increasing clinical grades of oral submucous fibrosis (p≤ 0.05).