Conference Proceeding Open Access

The Effectiveness of Different Oral Care Solutions for the Treatment Of Chemotherapy-induced Oral Complications

Abstract

Objective The aim of this study was to determine the effect of using different oral care solutions for the treatment of chemotherapy-induced oral complications in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy at an oncology center. Materials and Methods A prospective study was carried out on 90 patients with new diagnosis of diverse types of cancers eligible for different chemotherapeutic regimens at the oncology center of Dr. Lütfi Kırdar Kartal Teaching and Research Hospital at Istanbul –Turkey. Patients were divided into 3 groups as A, B, C group of 30 patients each and followed every two weeks. Cancer patients suffering from oral mucositis within each group were receiving oral care solutions using benzydamine hydrochloride, sodium bicarbonate, and glutamine powder respectively. Patients within each group were evaluated using “Patient Observation Form”, “Oral Mucosa Evaluation Form”, and “Visual Analog Scale”. Results Sociodemographic characteristics regarding gender and smoking habits showed no significant difference (P=0.051; P=0.894) respectively. Patients receiving glutamine powder in Group C showed a significant decrease in oral mucostis (P=0.029). Patients in both Group A and B were significantly suffering from throat pain (P=0.029) compared to patients in group C. Moreover, patients in Group A were significantly suffering from marked oral dryness (P=0.0001). According to the Rotterdam symptom list, physical disturbances of Group B were much more (P=0.041) than that of other groups at the end of the study. Conclusion Among the most common oral care solutions, glutamine powder was found to be the most effective oral care solution for the treatment of oral complications including mucositis, oral mucosal pain and oral dryness in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy.

Aygul koseoglu

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