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Quesnell BT, Alves M et al. J Endodon 2005; 31: 633–636

The aim of endodontic therapy for necrotic pulps may be stated as reduction of intra- and extraradicular microbes to a level where host defence can resolve infection and allow complete healing. When patients are immunocompromised, this level may be altered, and a quoted study of diabetics showed lower long-term success.

In the present study, preoperative and 1 yr follow-up radiographs were examined in 33 HIV positive and 33 control patients, and the Periapical Index (PAI) was used to evaluate periapical radiolucencies by 3 independent examiners. In the HIV group, mean PAI reduced from 3.74 to 2.42, and in the control group, from 3.94 to 2.25 (inter-group difference NS). In both groups, 88% of patients showed improvements. The authors comment that recent HIV treatments such as HAART lead to improved host defences and the outcome is not unexpected.