Periodontal disease in pregnant patients with rheumatic valvular disease: clinical and microbiological study.

Background: The periodontal disease during pregnancy of women with rheumatic valve disease imply infective endocarditis risks and higher rate of preterm birth and low birth weight. Objective: To study the periodontal disease rate of women with rheumatic valve disease during pregnancy. Methods: We studied 140 pregnant women who included 70 patients with rheumatic valve disease and 70 healthy women. The periodontal examination included: 1) periodontal clinical exam regard the follow variables: a) probing depth; b) gingival margin; c) clinical attachment level; d) bleeding on probing; e) plaque index and f) gingival index; and 2) microbiological test was performed in samples serum and gingival crevicular fluid and considered positive controls to Porphyromonas gingivalis, Tannerella forsithia e Aggregobacter actinomycetemcomitans. Results: Age and parity were similar between groups; as single or combined the mitral valve disease was prevalent among the rheumatic valve lesion in 45 (32.1%) e 20 (28.5%) cases, respectively. Among the periodontal variables gingival margin (p=0.01) and plaque index (p=0.04) were different between groups. The periodontal disease was identified in 20 (14,3%) pregnant women, seven (10%) of them were patients with valve rheumatic disease and the remain 13 (18,6%) were healthy women, its percentual was not different between groups (p=0,147). Microbiological analyses of oral samples showed higher percentual of P. gingivalis in healthy pregnant women (p=0.004). Conclusion: The clinical and microbiological study during pregnancy showed comparable incidence of periodontal disease between women with rheumatic valve disease and healthy women. (Arq Bras Cardiol 2011;96(4):307-311)