Decreased Salivary Cortisol in Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis Treated with Topical Steroids
Penulis/Author
drg. Hendri Susanto, M.Kes., PhD, Sp.PM (1); PUPUT KENDARWATI (2); KHOLIFASTIA IMANUSTI (3); LAXMI WIDYANINGSIH (4); drg. Sri Budiarti Wongsohardjono, M.S. (5); Prof. drg. Supriatno, M.Kes., MDsc., Ph.D. (6)
Tanggal/Date
2019
Kata Kunci/Keyword
Abstrak/Abstract
Background and Aim: Stress has been associated with recurrent aphthous stomatitis
(RAS). The common treatment of RAS is a topical steroid. This study aimed to
investigate the difference of salivary cortisol between RAS patients treated with a topical
steroid and those without treatment.
Materials and Methods: Thirty-two female patients with RAS participated in this
case-control study and were randomly divided into two groups: the case group (n=16)
treated with a topical steroid and the control group (n=16) without any treatment. The
inclusion criteria comprised of non-pregnant women with RAS. The exclusion criteria
consisted of having other diseases, taking medications, and smoking. All subjects were
examined for pre- and post-treatment salivary cortisol at the onset of the ulcers in the
case group and when the ulcers were healed in the control group. Data on the
characteristics of the subjects were collected and presented descriptively, and the
difference in salivary cortisol was analyzed using Mann-Whitney-U test and independent
t-test with a 95% confidence interval (CI) in SPSS 17.00 software.
Results: The mean salivary cortisol in the pre-treatment group (10.51±5.15 ng/ml) was
higher than that in the post-treatment group (9.30±3.77 ng/ml). The mean salivary
cortisol at the onset of RAS (9.55±4.03 ng/ml) was lower than when RAS was healed
(13.07±3.82 ng/ml) in the control group. There was a significant difference in the mean
of pre- and post-treatment salivary cortisol levels between the case and the control
groups (P<0.05).
Conclusion: Topical steroids may not only reduce inflammation of oral ulcers but also
may reduce salivary cortisol in RAS
