Oral lichen planus. An evolutive clinical and histological study of 45 patients followed up on for five years.

A study is made of 45 patients clinically and histologically diagnosed of oral lichen planus, and followed up on for 5 years. The course of the disease was monitored after three months and one, two and five years. The patients were classified in terms of lesion evolution (healed, improved, stationary or worse). Two evolutive groups were established for statistical purposes: (a) favorable (healed or improved lesions) and unfavorable cases (stationary or worsened oral lesions); and (b) healed and non-healed cases. Statistical correlations were established between these evolutive groups and different clinical and histological parameters, in an attempt to identify parameters of predictive value in the course of the disease. No statistically significant results were obtained, with the exception of inflammatory infiltrate. Thus, the depth of this infiltrate was found to be greater in patients with an unfavorable evolution (p = 0.02) than in those with a favorable course. Likewise, the inflammatory infiltrate was greater in non-healed than in healed cases.