Effect of levamisole on treatment of recurrent aphthous stomatitis: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The aim of this study was to systematically analyze the effect of levamisole on treatment of recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS). METHODS: An electronic search was executed in PubMed, Cochrane, and Scopus after determining the research question using the appropriate Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) term covering the period from 1975 to 2015. Additional publications from hand searching and the reference section of each relevant article enriched the article list. Finally, 9 articles that have assessed the effect of levamisole on the treatment of RAS and had suitable qualifications for the accomplishment of systematic review and meta-analysis were included. RESULTS: The results showed that the chance of improvement in patients taking levamisole was 6 [odds ratio (OR) = 5.67, 95% confidence interval (CI)] times more than in patients not taking this drug. CONCLUSION: It appears that levamisole is an effective drug for the treatment of RAS, but further appropriate studies should carryout in this context. KEYWORDS: Levamisole; Treatment; Aphthous; Recurrent; Stomatiti