ABSTRACT
Background: The normal periodontium and various parts of the oral mucosa are pink or very slightly red
in color, with some melanotic pigmentation that varies based mainly on the race of an individual.
Several diseases can cause a variation in this morphology including but not limited to tumors and tumorlike lesions. Among them is oral pyogenic granuloma, also called granuloma pyogenicum or granuloma
gravidarum, which is a benign and relatively uncommon reactive hyperplastic lesion. OPG is seen
clinically as a red or pink tumor which almost always has a stalk and bleeds either spontaneously or
upon the slightest stimulation. It can be mistaken for other lesions especially if clinical examination
alone is used to arrive at a diagnosis, thus diagnostic aids such as biopsies should be done together with
adjuncts like radiographs to check for osseous invasion.
Objective: To audit the histopathologic records of patients with oral pyogenic granuloma who visited
and were diagnosed with the condition at the UoNDH over a 10-year period (2003-2012).
Study Design: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study
Setting: Histopathology laboratory, University of Nairobi Dental Hospital
Materials and Methods: Data from a total of 89 files was obtained from the histolopathology laboratory
records and entered into a data sheet. This data included socio-demographic details, clinical features of
the lesions and sites of occurrence. Variables of interest included age, sex, size of lesions, year of
diagnosis and sites of occurrence. Data analysis was then done using a SPSS version 16 and results
tabulated.
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Results: Data from a total of 89 patients was analysed, and of these, 59.77% were females and 40.2%
were males. The male to female ratio was 2:3. The ages ranged between 5-92 with a mean of 33.41
years. The peak age group affected by the lesion was that between 21-30 years i.e. it was most common
in the third decade of life. Females affected by oral pyogenic granuloma were older on average than
males.
Most of the lesions were diagnosed in the year 2010 and 2011 with 15 each year (17%) while 2006, with
2 cases (2.3%), had the least number of lesions diagnosed. Most of the lesions occurred on the gingivae
of the upper jaw. They were 46 in number (52.3%), while those in the gingivae of the lower jaw were 20
(22.7%). Among the gingivally located lesions, 55.7% were on the facial aspect while 31.8% were on the
linguo-palatal aspect. A total of 10 (11.4%) OPG lesions were large to the extent of covering both the
facial and lingual/palatal aspects. A majority of the gingival lesions were located anteriorly, with 59.1%
lesions, whereas 17% gingival lesions were located posteriorly.
Conclusion:
1. Oral pyogenic granuloma was found to be more common in females than in males.
2. The lesion is more likely to occur on the labio-buccal aspect of the maxillary gingivae.
3. Extra-gingival lesions had a predilection for the lower lip.
Recommendations:
1. There is need to establish a link with the referring hospitals in order to facilitate patient follow up and
determination of treatment modality(ies) employed.
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2. Another study should be carried out in Kenya to determine a more accurate incidence and prevalence
of oral pyogenic granuloma.
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