Avaliação da xerostomia em pacientes reumatológicos sob terapia biológica

Abstract

Introduction: Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and Spondyloarthritis (SpA) are autoimmune inflammatory diseases, characterized by damage to synovial membranes that can functionally compromise affected joints. Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the complaint of xerostomia in patients with RA and SpA, under biological therapy, compared to a Control Group and correlate with indexes referring to oral health condition. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study with a total of 56 patients, under biological therapy, with 33 patients diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis and 23 patients with Spondyloarthritis, compared to 17 individuals who constituted the Control Group. The groups were evaluated in relation to demographic data; presence of xerostomia assessed using the visual analogue scale (VAS) and systematic orofacial evaluation (IG, ISG and DMFT). Results: The mean VAS values of patients with xerostomia were 28.15 in the AR group (range 0 to 75), in patients with SpA 23.39 (range 1 to 60) and in the Control Group the mean was 23, 12 (range 7 to 58). The evaluation of the gingival index of the patients revealed that the parameters are similar in all groups. The SS index was 26.08%, 15,15% against 76.47% for patients in the AR, EpA and Control groups, respectively. Regarding DMFT, the mean was 20.59 (3 - 29) in patients with RA, 10.81 (0 - 24) in patients with SpA and 27.73 (22 - 32) in the Control Group, with a difference significant only in the AR (t = 2,081; 31 gl; p = 0.046) and control (t = 2,084; 15 gl; p = 0.055) groups. Conclusion: Patients with RA and SpA who were under immunobiological therapy had xerostomia scores similar to the control group, indicating that the use of this therapy does not seem to interfere in the xerostomia complaint. In addition, the study demonstrated that complaints of xerostomia in these patients are related to the worsening of the oral health condition.