Prevalence of Candida albicans in primary endodontic infections associated with a higher frequency of apical periodontitis in type two diabetes mellitus patients

• Published in: European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases Vol. 39; no. 1; pp. 131 - 138
• Main Authors: De la Torre-Luna, Rocio, Domínguez-Pérez, Rubén Abraham, Guillén-Nepita, Ana Laura, Ayala-Herrera, José Luis, Martínez-Martínez, Rita Elizabeth, Romero-Ayala, Ma. Esther, Pérez-Serrano, Rosa Martha, Vázquez-Garcidueñas, Ma. Soledad
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 2020; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Candida albicans; Deoxyribonucleic acid; Diabetes; Diabetes mellitus; DNA; Endodontics; Gum disease; Internal Medicine; Medical Microbiology; Mushrooms; Original Article; Patients; Periodontitis; Polymerase chain reaction; Primers; Root canals; Endodontics; Primary endodontic infection; Root canal treatment; Apical periodontitis; Diabetes mellitus; Candida albicans
• ISSN: 0934-9723; 1435-4373
• DOI: 10.1007/s10096-019-03702-z

To identify the prevalence of
C. albicans
in primary endodontic infections of type two diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients and compare their clinical and radiographical characteristics with a non-diabetic control group, establishing the possible relationship between primary endodontic infection, T2DM, and
C. albicans
, since diabetes mellitus (DM), influences the development, course, and response to the treatment of apical periodontitis, but the presence of
Candida albicans
(
C. albicans
) has not been considered before. A total of 120 patients were selected and divided into two groups: 60 T2DM diagnosed patients and 60 non-diabetic controls. A clinical examination and radiographic analysis were performed to establish a periapical index score (PAI). Root canal samples were taken. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) was extracted, and specific primers were used to identify
C. albicans
by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
.
A twofold increase in the prevalence of
C. albicans
in T2DM patients was observed in contrast to control patients (
p
 = 0.0251). Sixty-five percent of T2DM patients with positive
C. albicans
scored a ≥ 3 PAI, while only 27% of the patients without
C. albicans
had a ≥ 3 PAI score (
p
 = 0.0065). Long-term DM patients presented
C. albicans
more frequently (
p
 < 0.0001). In this study, long-term T2DM patients carried
C. albicans
in their root canals more frequently when having a primary endodontic infection. Furthermore, this
C. albicans
presence seems to be related to a higher frequency of apical periodontitis.