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Stratification of methotrexate‐induced oral ulcers in rheumatoid arthritis patients
Author(s) -
Magdy Eman,
Ali Shereen
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
special care in dentistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.328
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1754-4505
pISSN - 0275-1879
DOI - 10.1111/scd.12575
Subject(s) - medicine , methotrexate , rheumatoid arthritis , mucositis , arthritis , gastroenterology , dermatology , chemotherapy
Aim There is a deficiency in the data concerning the clinical forms of methotrexate‐induced oral ulcers. This study was conducted to stratify clinical forms of methotrexate‐induced oral ulcers in rheumatoid arthritis patients. Methods This study included rheumatoid arthritis patients receiving methotrexate as monotherapy. All eligible patients were subjected to thorough clinical examination and full history to identify oral events. Drug history, dose, and duration of MTX were recorded. Results Among 794 rheumatoid arthritis patients, mean methotrexate dose and duration were 14.3 mg/week and 5.2 years, respectively. Oral ulcers were detected in 6.2% of the patients and 30% of the patients reported previous oral ulcers. Among the detected oral ulcers, 44.9% manifested as deep irregular ulcers, 30.6% presented as aphthous‐like ulcers, 14.3% were diffuse mucositis, and 10.2% appeared as lichenoid reaction. Conclusion Methotrexate‐induced oral ulceration could be localized or generalized. Localized forms were more noticed than generalized forms. Higher doses and longer durations of methotrexate were detected among patients with generalized oral ulcers.