Identification of herpesvirus types 1-8 in oral cavity of children/adolescents with chronic renal failure.

The aim of this investigation was to identify the prevalence of herpesvirus types 1-8 in the oral cavity of subjects with chronic renal failure (CRF) and healthy subjects and compare the two groups, and also correlate the presence of the virus with some characteristics of CRF disease (the type of treatment, drugs administered for CRF and the presence of oral manifestations). The sample was made up of 60 subjects (aged 4-20) divided into the renal group (RG) and healthy group. Anamnesis, intraoral examination and collection of clinical specimens (swab smears) were carried out. The nested-PCR technique was used to identify the viral species. The results showed a higher prevalence of HSV-1 (20%), human herpes virus (HHV)-6B (83%), CMV (13.3%) in RG group than in healthy group (HSV-1: 3.3%; HHV-6B: 20%) (P ≤ 0.05). There was no difference in the prevalence of HHV-7 between the two groups (P > 0.05). HSV-2, EBV, VZV, HHV-6A, and HHV-8 were not identified in either group. The most common symptoms in RG were dry-mouth sensation (60%), changes in taste (33.3%), and uremic odor (26.7%). There was a correlation between HHV-7 and the use of anticoagulants and HHV-6B with dry-mouth sensation (P ≤ 0.05). Based on the results, the prevalence of herpesvirus types (HSV-1, HHV-6B and CMV) were shown to be higher in subjects with CRF as well as in healthy children, but only the HHV-6B and HHV-7 were correlated with some of the disease characteristics. So, more attention should be paid to the oral health of these individuals in order to prevent infection by opportunistic pathogens.