Pilot study of different approaches to pain management in patients with oral mucositis undergoing cancer treatment at a university hospital in Southern Brazil

Pilot study of different approaches to pain management in patients with oral mucositis undergoing cancer treatment at a university hospital in Southern Brazil

Vol. 12 – Number 48 – 2021 INTERDISCIPLINARY NOTEBOOK Original article Page 109-114 Pilot study of different approaches to pain management in patients with oral mucositis undergoing cancer treatment at a university hospital in Southern Brazil Leonardo Rosalen da Silva¹ Soraia Almeida Watanabe Imanishi¹ Léa Maria Franceschi Dallanora¹ Amanda Lopes² Jaques Luiz³ Flavia Sukekava³ Abstract Oral mucositis consists of irritation/inflammation of the oral mucosa caused by the action of head and neck radiotherapy/chemotherapy. Despite the various options for its treatment, no therapy is superior. The aim of this study was to compare therapeutic alternatives in patients with oral mucositis undergoing cancer treatment at a university hospital in Southern Brazil. In this pilot study, 80 patients were selected and randomly divided into four treatment groups: Group 1 (G1): oral fluid without xylitol/menthol; Group 2 (G2): nystatin, oral suspension; Group 3 (G3): laser; and Group 4 (G4): placebo laser. Using a validated and specific questionnaire for mucositis, self-reported pain scores as well as limitations in the daily routine that this pain caused were compared between groups. Regarding pain in the mouth and throat region, when comparing the initial phase (1st day of therapy) and the final phase (5th day of therapy), G1 had an average of 4.6 points reduction in pain levels, having better results (p<0.01) compared to G2 (2.1), G3 (0.9), and G4 (0.8), and with respect to activity limitations, patients in groups G1 and G2 reported improvement significant in the performance of all activities and G4 showed no statistically significant difference. The data suggest that oral fluid without xylitol/menthol could be used as a viable treatment alternative to reduce the pain caused by oral mucositis observed in patients undergoing cancer treatment, however, these results need to be better evaluated. Descriptors: Mucositis, chemotherapy, Dentistry, cancer pain. ¹ Dentistry, Life Sciences Area – Unoesc. ² Dentistry, Life Sciences Area – Universidade Positivo. ³ International Team for Implantology, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil. DOI: 10.24077/2021;1248-109114

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