“Differential Diagnosis: Is It Herpes or Aphthous?”

Abstract

Recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) and recurrent intraoral herpes (RIH) are the two most commonly presenting oral lesions in the dental setting. It is critical that the oral health professional be able to accurately discriminate between these disorders. To facilitate the differential diagnosis between RAS and RIH, important components of assessment are discussed. These include: prodromal signs and symptoms, lesion location, and appearance of the initial and mature lesion. The comparative etiology, prevalence, pathogenesis, and treatment considerations for these lesions are presented. A familial case report is provided. Citation Tilliss TSI, McDowell JD. “Differential Diagnosis: Is It Herpes or Aphthous?” J Contemp Dent Pract 2002 Feb;(3)1: 001-015.

Epidemiology of orofacial herpes simplex virus infections in the general population in France: results of the HERPIMAX study

“…In principle, the ‘itching’ criterion of the diagnostic question should exclude patients with aphthous lesions, who generally complain of pressure pain rather than itching or burning. Although the two types of lesions are easily distinguishable by the experienced clinician, 30 the vocabulary used in the questionnaire may have been too imprecise to identify only subjects with herpetic lesions. If this is the case, then the prevalence rates observed may be overestimated by up to 16%.…”

Factitious buccal lesion secondary to bruxism in a child with cerebral palsy

“…8 The common differential diagnoses of oral lesions are aphthous stomatitis, intraoral herpes, and erythema multiforme (Stevens Johnson Syndrome) all of which tend to be acute in onset and short-lived. 11 The diagnosis of a factitious lesion is one of exclusion and very often overlooked. The common pathologies can usually be ruled out by prodromal signs and symptoms, lesion location and appearance, plus the directed use of haematological, microbiological, and if necessary, histological investigations.…”

Coexistência de pênfigo vulgar e infecção pelo vírus herpes simples na mucosa oral

“…Após a infecção inicial pelo HSV ocorrem períodos da latência e de reativação. Geralmente, a reativação decorre de fatores que debilitam o sistema imunológico, como exposição solar, frio, estresse emocional, trauma, fadiga, febre e outras condições sistêmicas, caracterizando-se por pequenas vesículas que podem acometer regiões intra e perioral (10,16) .…”

“…A medicação instituída para o tratamento da infecção pelo HSV é o aciclovir, que pode ser administrado de forma tópica ou sistêmica, conforme a gravidade do caso (16) .…”