Estudo longitudinal da halitose através da cromatografia gasosa.

Abstract

The word halitosis is originated from Latin, in which "halitos", mean expired air and "osis" mean a pathological alteration. This change is uncomfortable for the patients and for those who live with them as well. This study aimed to correlate the organoleptic tests (subjective method) and gas chromatography (objective method) addressing to the conclusive diagnosis of halitosis and to evaluate the behavior of volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) during the clinical management of this pathology. The research is a longitudinal study, comprising 19 patients diagnosed with halitosis through organoleptic evaluation (EOt1) and gas chromatography (ECGt1), both applied during the initial consultation, in the city of Ijuí, in Rio Grande do Sul. The Chi-Square Test of Independence was used to compare all the 38 exams. As for the clinical follow-up of the treatment effectiveness as well as the analysis of VSC behavior, four other gas chromatography tests (ECGt2, ECGt3, ECGt4 and ECGt5) were conducted for each patient, being all (95) compared through the use of Wilcoxom test. The correlation between EOt1 and ECGt1 showed concordance in 78.9% of cases, indicating a strong association (p = 0.002). By evaluating the monitoring of sulfate compounds H2S, CH3SH and (CH3) 2S all involved in some phase of the halitosis genesis, there was a significant reduction of all the compounds. The Gas and Organoleptic Chromatography tests are equivalent tests for initial halitosis diagnostic, as they presented a statistically significant correlation. Regarding the monitoring of halitosis treatment, gas chromatography was efficient, presenting high reduction rates in all VSCs.