Avaliação da presença de citomegalovírus e vírus epstein-barr em lesões periapicais sintomáticas e assintomáticas

Abstract

Recent reports have suggested that some herpesviruses are putative pathogens of periapical diseases. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the presence of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in periapical lesions and to verify a possible association between these viruses and the occurrence of symptomatic large lesions and their histopathologic diagnosis. 27 symptomatic and 52 asymptomatic periapical lesions were included in the study. The presence of HCMV and EBV in these samples was assessed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification. Chi-squared and Fisher exact test were used for statistical analysis. 64 (81%) lesions presented EBV, 3 (4%) showed HCMV and 15 (19%) displayed none of the tested herpesviruses. Markedly, all positive lesions for HCMV also showed EBV. No significant association was identified between the HCMV and EBV infection and the occurrence of symptomatology or the lesions size, while EBV infection was statistically related to periapical cysts. In conclusion, contrasting to HCMV, there is a high frequency of EBV in periapical lesions, especially cysts. However, the presence of these viruses is not related to the symptomatology or their radiographic size.