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Abstract

Objective: To explore if the oral lesions in coronavirus disease-2019 patients are caused by the drugs used in the treatment or by the virus itself.Method: The cross-sectional study was conducted from September 2020 to September 2021 at the Kafrelsheikh University Hospital, Egypt, and comprised coronavirus disease-2019 patients of either gender aged 20-60 years having severe pneumonia and breathing difficulties who had no comorbidities. Based on the level of interleukin-6 and procalcitonin, the patients were classified into high group I receiving tocilizumab and methylprednisolone, medium group II receiving methylprednisolone alone, and low group III receiving antiviral drugs. The oral manifestations wererecorded at the time of admission before treatment and at 2 weeks after the respective treatment. Data was analysed using SPSS 20.Results: Of the 90 patients, 30(33.3%) were in group I; 16(%) males and 14(%) females with mean age 44.82±6.10 years. Group II had 27(%) patients; 14(%) males and 13(%) females with mean age 43.74±4.87 years. Group III had 33(%) patients; 9(%) males and 14(%) females with mean age 42.66±2.51 years (p>0.05). There was no significant difference among the groups at baseline and after 2 weeks of treatment regarding oral manifestations. Intragroup comparison demonstrated a significant difference in the two values in all the three groups (p<0.05).Conclusion: Oral lesions in coronavirus disease-2019 patients were caused by the virus itself rather than the drugs used in its treatment.Keywords: Tocilizumab, Dentists, Methylprednisolone, COVID-19.