Angular cheilitis in elderly pacients: clinical and microbiological aspects, etiological factors and therapeutic management

Abstract

Introduction: Angular cheilitis is a multifactorial lesion of essentially fungal character, which affects the labial commissures and clinically manifests itself through a characteristic pattern. In the elderly due to advanced age, the onset and persistence of angular cheilitis occurs due to loss of vertical dimension, edentulism, immunosuppression, increased skinfold, poorly adapted prostheses and reduced quality of life. Objective: To conduct a survey in the scientific literature about the clinical and microbiological aspects, etiological factors and treatment of angular cheilitis in elderly patients. Materials and methods: The PubMed, SciELO and LILACS databases were consulted, using the DeCS/MeSH descriptors in Portuguese and English: "idosos",“queilite” and “lesão”; "elderly", "cheilitis" and “lesion”. After crossing with the Boolean operator AND, a survey and analysis was performed, with the inclusion of 21 studies. To deepen the theoretical foundation, 13 new references were added, totaling 34 studies. Results: Clinically, angular cheilitis manifests itself through fissures, erythemas, unilateral or bilateral crusts, accompanied by pain and itching. The presence of the microorganisms Candida albicans, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes are common and hinder the therapeutic management of this condition. Among the various forms of treatment, we highlight the antimicrobial Photodynamic Therapy, use of hyaluronic acid, as well as local antimicrobials, especially antifungals. Final considerations: Because it presents a multifactorial aspect and involves different types of microorganisms, its therapeutic management is multimodal. Therefore, for an adequate treatment, it is necessary for the dentist to identify the clinical and microbiological characteristics, in addition to the etiological factors involved in the development of angular cheilitis.

Keywords: Elderly. Cheilitis. Lesion.