The necessity of a test reading after 1 week to detect late positive patch test reactions in patients with oral lichen lesions.

Objectives: Establishing the clinical relevance of contact allergy to dental materials in patients with oral lichen lesions (OLL) may be difficult, and tests are often read only on day 3 or day 4; also, concentration of the tested allergens may vary. Several studies on dermatitis patients have shown that additional positive patch test reactions can be found after day 4. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to analyse the frequency of late positive reactions to potential allergens in patients with OLL.

Contact allergies to potential allergens in patients with oral lichen lesions.

Objective: The aim of the present controlled study was to investigate a possible relationship between contact allergies to potential allergens and oral lichen lesions.

Methods: Eighty-three patients with oral lichen lesions (OLL) and control groups of age- and gender-matched dermatitis patients (DP, n = 83) and patch-tested dermatitis patients randomly selected from files (PSFF, n = 319) were included in the study. OLL and DP groups were patch-tested epicutaneously and examined intraorally.

Contact allergy to gold in patients with oral lichen lesions.

The aetiology of oral lichen lesions is obscure. In this study the frequency of contact allergy to gold in 83 patients with oral lichen lesions was compared with that in two control groups, comprising 319 age- and gender-matched patients with dermatitis selected from files and 83 clinically examined dermatitis patients. All patients were tested epicutaneously with gold sodium thiosulphate.

Lymphoid organisation in labial salivary gland biopsies is a possible predictor for the development of malignant lymphoma in primary Sjögren's syndrome.

Objective: The development of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) confers a high risk of mortality in primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) patients, but the sensitivity and specificity of proposed lymphoma predictors are insufficient for practical use. The performance of lymphoid organisation in the form of germinal centre (GC)-like lesions was evaluated in labial salivary gland biopsies taken at pSS diagnosis as a potential lymphoma-predicting biomarker.

Methods: Labial salivary gland tissue biopsies available from two Swedish pSS research cohorts (n=175) were re-evaluated by light microscopy in a blind study in order to identify GC-like structures as a sign of ectopic lymphoid tissue formation and organisation.

Prediction of postoperative pain after mandibular third molar surgery.

Aims: To evaluate the predictive potential of preoperative psychological and psychophysiological variables in estimating severity of postoperative pain following mandibular third molar surgery (MTMS).

Methods: Following ethical committee approval and informed consent, 40 consecutive patients scheduled for MTMS were included. Preoperative psychometric indicators of anxiety, depression, and vulnerability were evaluated by patient questionnaires.