Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Amlexanox in the Treatment of Erosive Oral Lichen Planus: A Clinical Experience from a Tertiary Care Center

Saurabh Roy; Yogesh Chhaparwal; Mathangi Kumar; Shruthi Acharya; Shubha Chhaparwal; Monica C Solomon

doi:10.4103/jispcd.jispcd_113_23

Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Amlexanox in the Treatment of Erosive Oral Lichen Planus: A Clinical Experience from a Tertiary Care Center

J Int Soc Prev Community Dent. 2024 Feb 27;14(1):61-68. doi: 10.4103/jispcd.jispcd_113_23. eCollection 2024 Jan-Feb.

Authors

Saurabh Roy¹, Yogesh Chhaparwal¹, Mathangi Kumar¹, Shruthi Acharya¹, Shubha Chhaparwal², Monica C Solomon³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Oral Medicine & Radiology, Manipal College of Dental Sciences, Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, India.
² Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, Manipal College of Dental Sciences, Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, India.
³ Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology and Oral Microbiology, Manipal College of Dental Sciences, Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, India.

Abstract

Aim: This comparative study evaluated the effectiveness and safety profile of topical amlexanox and triamcinolone for the management of erosive oral lichen planus (EOLP).

Materials and methods: This prospective, observational study included 21 patients diagnosed clinically and histopathologically with EOLP and categorized into two groups. Subjects in the two groups were prescribed topical amlexanox and triamcinolone, respectively, for 4 weeks. The area of the erosive lesion and burning sensation was measured at baseline, at the end of the first, 2second, and fourth week. These outcome measures were documented and statistically analyzed. The statistical analyses were performed using the IBM SPSS Statistics version 22. Analysis for age distribution was done by independent sample t test. Analysis of sex distribution was done by chi-square test. Variations within a single group for both the outcome parameters were calculated by Wilcoxon signed rank test. (P < 0.05 statistically significant).

Results: A total of 30 erosive sites were evaluated in 21 patients over a 4-week duration. The most common site was the buccal mucosa in both groups (23 of 30; 76.67% of total lesions assessed), followed by the tongue (5 of 30; 16.67% of total lesions assessed), the palate (1 of 30; 3.33% of total sites assessed), and the maxillary attached gingiva (1 of 30; 3.33% of total sites assessed). Group 1 (amlexanox) was comprised of 11 subjects, whereas Group 2 (triamcinolone) was comprised of 10 subjects. Pre and posttreatment comparison revealed no statistically significant difference (P = 0.756; 0.512, respectively), for the area of the erosion and burning sensation. Intragroup analysis showed that in Groups 1 and 2, there was a statistically significant reduction in the measures posttreatment (P < 0.05).

Conclusions: Amlexanox provides an earlier onset of pain relief in the treatment of EOLP, whereas providing a comparable reduction in the erosive area compared with triamcinolone. Topical amlexanox appears to be as effective as triamcinolone and is a promising alternative in the management of the erosive lichen planus with minimal adverse effects.

Keywords: Amlexanox; erosive; erosive oral lichen planus; triamcinolone; visual analog scale.