Debridement could be a solution to promote healing of established oral mucositis in children.

AIM

The aim of the study was to present a novel approach to promote healing of established oral mucositis and to alleviate symptom clusters in a group of children who were on induction chemotherapy.

STUDY DESIGN

A clinical prospective study.

METHODS

Children (40) diagnosed with Grade 3 or 4 oral mucositis were randomly assigned into two groups: In Group I (n=20), accumulated debris on ulcerations was removed (debridement); In Group II (n=20), subjects had no debridement. The condition of oral lesions, speech, lips, teeth, saliva, gingiva, and swallowing ability were examined 3 x week during the study. All subjects received the same oral care regimen. They were well balanced in respect of age, the type of antineoplastic treatment, and the number.

RESULTS

Debridement promoted resolution and decreased the severity of oral mucositis significantly. Thus, the subjects had less oral discomfort, pain, and nutritional difficulties.

STATISTICS

The data were entered in the SPSS 13.0 program, and the tests used were Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Shapiro-Wilk, Mann-Whitney, and Spearman's correlation coefficient with a 5% significance level.

CONCLUSION

Well-controlled, prospective clinical studies related to the management of established oral mucositis will lead to the development of potential interventions and improved patient care.