Oral manifestations of COVID-19 correlated to medical and drug history, a survey on infected medical doctors.

Abstract

Abstract Objective Reporting the oral symptoms of COVID-19 and correlate the occurrence of these symptoms with various possible etiologic factors. Methods A cross-sectional web-based survey targeted Medical doctors infected with COVID-19. The survey questioned the diagnosis of the disease, the severity of the disease symptoms, the oral symptoms along with drug and medical history. A total sample of 312 response were analyzed and correlated with various factors including the patients’ age, sex, medical history, drug history, hospitalization and severity of COVID-19 symptoms. Results Oral manifestations were reported in 72.5% of the participants. The most common oral manifestations were dysgeusia in 76% of patients which was partial in 64% of the participants. Xerostomia was reported in 41.6% of cases. Aphthous stomatitis and recurrent herpetic infections were also reported. The occurrence of oral symptoms was increased among population with previous medical history with no evidence of correlation with any other factors regarding gender, certain medications or oral hygiene. Conclusion The most common oral manifestations of COVID-19 are dysgeusia and xerostomia and the occurrence of oral manifestations is increased in patients with previous medical condition. Clinical relevance: awareness of the possible symptoms and medical conditions that may potentiate the severity of oral symptoms during COVID-19 infection allows targeting the precise mechanism to treat the oral symptoms.