A comparison of intraoral Candida carriage in Sjögren's syndrome patients with healthy xerostomic controls

Abstract

Objective. Determination of the incidence of Candida carriage in patients with Sjögren's syndrome (SS) and xerostomic controls to assess the influence of immunologic disturbances in SS on carriage. Study design. A total of 16 primary SS patients, 12 secondary SS patients, and 14 xerostomic controls were included in the study. Sampling was performed using an oral rinse method. Aliquots (100 μl) were spread onto CHROMagar∗ and incubated for 48 hours. Species identification was confirmed by the germ tube test and API ID32C.† Total colony-forming units per milliliter (CFU/ml) were counted and statistical analyses performed by the Kruskal-Wallis test. Results. Candida carriage in primary SS, secondary SS, and xerostomic patients was 81.25%, 66.7%, and 71.4%, respectively. There were no statistically significant differences in total CFU/ml. A wide range of species was isolated in each group. Conclusion. The immunologic disturbances seen in SS do not significantly influence the intraoral Candida carriage in patients with a dry mouth.