Oral Mucosal Lesions in Patients Attending Dermatology Outpatient Department of a Tertiary Care Center in Kathmandu: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study.

Introduction: Oral mucosal lesions though mostly benign, may impair the quality of life of patients. Some may even progress to malignancies. Many physicians, including dermatologists, tend to skip oral examinations, missing many important diagnoses. Understanding the frequency and types of oral mucosal lesions in dermatological settings can help in early diagnosis, referral and adequate treatment. This study was done to determine demographic characteristics and clinical presentations of patients with oral mucosal lesions presenting to the out-patient department (OPD) of dermatology in Nepal Armed Police Force (APF) Hospital, Kathmandu.

Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted after obtaining the ethical approval from the Institutional Review Committee of Nepal APF Hospital. Retrospective data of 264 patients presenting with oral mucosal lesions to the dermatology OPD were collected from 1st January 2021 to 31st December 2023 by using a pre-formed proforma. Data was entered in SPSS software and descriptive statistics were computed.

Results: Out of 13,832 cases, oral mucosal lesion was seen in 264 (1.90%) cases among which 153 (57.96%) cases were males with male female ratio of 1.37:1. Most common age group affected was 31-45 years 96 (36.36%). Buccal mucosa 86 (32.57%) was the commonest site involved followed by tongue 73 (27.65%). Aphthous ulcer 82 (31.06%) was the commonest lesion found followed by oral candidiasis 25 (9.46%) and oral lichen planus 24 (9.09%).

Conclusions: Aphthous ulcer was the commonest oral mucosal lesion seen in patients visiting dermatology outpatient department of Nepal APF Hospital, with buccal mucosa being the commonest site affected.