Heart Patients With Poor OH May Suffer More Severe COVID-19
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- Published: Thursday, 14 October 2021 07:36
- Written by Chris Tapper
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A new study suggests poor oral health may be linked to the severity of COVID-19 in cardiac patients.
Research carried out in Egypt which examined cardiac patients also suggested poor oral hygiene may also be a factor in delayed recovery.
The full results of the study, carried out by Cairo University, will be presented by the American College of Cardiology (ACC), Egyptian Society of Cardiology and the ACC Egypt Chapter on October 14th and 15th at ACC Middle East 2021.
The latest study follows previous research which has linked poor oral hygiene with cardiovascular disease and inflammation. Severe infection with SARS-CoV-2 has also been linked to the inflammatory response.
The mouth is a recognised potential reservoir of respiratory pathogens.
Researchers in the latest study assessed COVID-19 infected cardiovascular patients and the duration of their recovery.
The patients were assessed for oral health status, the severity of their COVID-19 symptoms and their systematic inflammation levels (C-reactive protein [CRP] levels), the science website EurekAlert said.
Dr Ahmed Mustafa Basuoni, MD, is cardiology consultant at Cairo University and lead author of the study.
Dr Basuoni said “Oral tissues could act as a reservoir for SARS-CoV-2, developing a high viral load in the oral cavity. Therefore, we recommended maintenance of oral health and improving oral hygiene measures, especially during COVID-19 infection.”
“Simple measures like practicing proper oral hygiene, raising awareness of oral health importance either in relation to COVID-19 infection or systemic diseases by using media and community medicine, regular dental visits, especially in patients with CVD, and using [antimicrobial] mouthwashes [could help in] preventing or decreasing the severity of COVID-19 disease.”
The study looked at a total of 86 patients heart disease patients who had their coronavirus infection confirmed with a COVID-19 PCR PCR test.
The researchers assessed each patient’s oral health and the severity of their coronavirus infection.
The effect of oral health on COVID-19 was then determined by looking at CRP levels, which marked systemic inflammation.
“According to the researchers, the correlation between oral health and COVID-19 severity showed a significant inverse relationship, as did the correlation between oral health with recovery period and CRP values.”
“Poor oral health was correlated to increased values of CRP and delayed recovery, especially in patients with cardiac diseases,” EurekAlert said.
“Oral health should be a part of routine history taking and examination in cardiac patients,” Dr Basuoni said.
“Lifestyle measures should be instructed to all cardiac patients regarding good oral hygiene with regular dental visits. We need to give more space in research for these risk factors which can be easily modified.”
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