Clinical-morphological characteristic of oral lichen planus
Oral lichen planus (OLP) is one of the most common dermatological diseases presenting in the oral cavity; the prevalence in the general population is 1% to 2%.Study design: a prospective study of 82 patients with a clinical diagnosis of "oral lichen planus" was performed (September 2013 - April 2017). We analyzed the age and gender of the patient, type of OLP, location and different morphological characters, comparing them with the clinical implications. Results: 84.1% of the patients were female with an average age of 58.4±1.4 years. According to clinical presentation and morphological features "uncomplicated" and "complicated" variants OLP were identified. "Uncomplicated" variant included typical and hyperkeratotic forms, "complicated" - exudative-hyperemic, erosive-ulcerative, bullous and atypical forms. The most frequent clinical variant was "complicated" in the form of erosive-ulcerative (40.96%), and the most common location was the buccal mucosa, presented in 81.7%. "Complicated" variants were characterized by a longer duration of dermatosis and skin involvement. The most typical pathomorphological changes of OLP included: superficial lichenoid inflammatory lymphocytic infiltration (100%), hydrophonic degeneration of basal layer (91.3%), "blurring" of the basal membrane (82.6%), lymphocytes exocytosis (73.9%), spongiosis (69.5%) and parakeratosis (69.5%). Other common histological findings were the presence of plasma cells and absence of serrated ridges. Conclusions: оral lichen planus is a disease that is more common in women, usually appearing in the fifth and sixth decades of life. The most common clinical form is "complicated" in the form of erosive-ulcerative, manifesting mainly in the buccal mucosa. Histological findings characteristic of oral lichen planus include hydropic degeneration of the basal layer, lymphocytic infiltration in the subepithelial layer, "blurring" of the basal membrane; however, it is also frequent to observe plasma cells and the absence of serrated ridges.