Infection and Drug Resistance (Jul 2023)
The Oral Lesion in the COVID-19 Patient: Is It True Oral Manifestation or Not?
Abstract
Andari Sarasati,1 Dewi Agustina,2 Meircurius Dwi Condro Surboyo3 1Faculty of Dentistry, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, 55281, Indonesia; 2Department of Oral Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, 55281, Indonesia; 3Department of Oral Medicine, Faculty of Dental Medicine, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, 60132, IndonesiaCorrespondence: Dewi Agustina, Department of Oral Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Jalan Denta No. 1, Sekip Utara, Yogyakarta, 55281, Indonesia, Tel/Fax +6274-515307, Email [email protected]: Many previously reported publications mentioned that oral lesion in COVID-19 patients was varied. The term oral manifestations refer to pathognomonic features that are found consistently with a specific cause and effect. In this context, the oral manifestation of COVID-19 was inconclusive. This systematic review aimed to analyse previously reported publications related to oral lesions in COVID-19 patients to define as oral manifestations or not. The PRISMA guidelines were implemented in this review.Methods: All umbrella reviews, systematic reviews, systematic reviews and meta-analyses, comprehensive reviews, and original and non-original studies were included. Twenty-one of systematic review, 32 original studies and 68 non-original studies reported the oral lesion in COVID-19 patients.Results: Most of the publications mentioned that ulcers, macular, pseudomembranes and crusts were frequent oral lesions. The reported oral lesions in COVID-19 patients did not show any pathognomonic features and might be unrelated directly to COVID-19 infections, however, more likely due to gender, age, underlying diseases, and medication.Conclusion: The oral lesions found in previous studies do not have pathognomonic features and are inconsistent. Therefore, the reported oral lesion, in present time, cannot be defined as an oral manifestation.Graphical Abstract: Keywords: oral lesion, oral manifestation, underlying disease, medication, COVID-19