Funk Camila Samara, Warmling Cristine Maria, Baldisserotto Julio
Community Health Service, Health School of Grupo Hospitalar Conceição, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Department of Social and Preventive Dentistry, School of Dentistry of Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Rua Dona Leonor 194/1407, 90420-180, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Clin Oral Investig. 2014 May;18(4):1213-1219. doi: 10.1007/s00784-013-1068-2. Epub 2013 Aug 30.
A randomized clinical trial (RCT) to evaluate the impact of dental care program on the quality of life (QOL) of head and neck cancer patients under oncological treatment.
The study design was a parallel RCT where 46 subjects with a diagnosis of head and neck primary neoplasy were randomly allocated to the control (CG) or test group (TG). Both groups received basic dental care but the TG received a complimentary care before and during, oncological therapy. Data related to general (WHOQOL-BREF) and specific (EORTC QLQ H&N 35) QOL were assessed before and 15 days after the conclusion of the oncological therapy.
The TG showed an improvement in the general and specific QOL, while the CG showed a worsening in these indexes but without significant difference. The variation between the initial and final measures in the TG shows a tendency of significant improvement along the time. A reduction in candidiasis (p < 0.05) and muccositis was observed in the TG.
In a short follow-up period, dental care was able to reduce damage from the oncological therapy especially related to muccositis and candidiasis, although the QOL was not significantly improved. However, a longer follow-up to measure the late side effects over the QOL of these patients is necessary.
Provision of continuous dental care for head and neck cancer patients can reduce deleterious side effects of the oncological treatment.
进行一项随机临床试验（RCT），以评估牙科护理计划对接受肿瘤治疗的头颈癌患者生活质量（QOL）的影响。
本研究设计为平行随机对照试验，将46例诊断为头颈原发性肿瘤的受试者随机分为对照组（CG）或试验组（TG）。两组均接受基本的牙科护理，但试验组在肿瘤治疗前和治疗期间接受额外的护理。在肿瘤治疗结束前和结束后15天评估与总体（世界卫生组织生活质量简表，WHOQOL-BREF）和特定（欧洲癌症研究与治疗组织头颈癌问卷，EORTC QLQ H&N 35）生活质量相关的数据。
试验组的总体和特定生活质量有所改善，而对照组这些指标有所恶化，但无显著差异。试验组初始和最终测量值之间的变化显示出随时间有显著改善的趋势。试验组念珠菌病（p < 0.05）和口腔炎有所减少。
在短期随访期内，牙科护理能够减少肿瘤治疗造成的损害，尤其是与口腔炎和念珠菌病相关的损害，尽管生活质量没有显著改善。然而，有必要进行更长时间的随访，以测量这些患者生活质量的晚期副作用。
为头颈癌患者提供持续的牙科护理可以减少肿瘤治疗的有害副作用。
