Bhandari Sudhir, Wadhwa Soni Bhavita, Gupta Ankita, Ghoshal Sushmita
Unit of Prosthodontics, Oral Health Sciences Centre, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.
Department of Radiation Oncology, Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research, and Education in Cancer, Tata Memorial Centre, HBNI, Navi Mumbai, India.
Head Neck. 2023 Apr;45(4):913-920. doi: 10.1002/hed.27317. Epub 2023 Feb 16.
Prophylactic oral care (POC) before radiotherapy (RT) is an adjunct but an integral process toward preparing patients for RT, however, time to be invested in POC remains unexplored.
Prospective treatment records were maintained in head and neck cancer patients, who received POC following a standardized protocol with definite timelines. Data collected for oral treatment time (OTT), interruption in RT due to oro-dental issues, future extraction(s), and incidence of osteoradionecrosis (ORN) up to 18 months after treatment were analyzed.
Three hundred thirty-three patients, 275 males and 58 females, mean age 52.45 ± 11.2 years were included. Mean OTT was 21.0 ± 6.2 days and was influenced significantly with the number of extractions (p < 0.00). There was no interruption in RT schedule due to oro-dental issues. Five patients were diagnosed with ORN.
Performing POC as demonstrated aid in timely removal of nidus of infection(s), perform RT as scheduled, and maintain satisfactory oral health through the survivorship of patients.
放疗（RT）前的预防性口腔护理（POC）是放疗前准备过程中的辅助但不可或缺的环节，然而，POC所需投入的时间仍未得到探索。
对头颈部癌症患者的前瞻性治疗记录进行整理，这些患者按照具有明确时间线的标准化方案接受POC。分析收集到的口腔治疗时间（OTT）、因口腔牙齿问题导致的放疗中断、未来拔牙情况以及治疗后长达18个月的放射性骨坏死（ORN）发生率。
纳入333例患者，其中男性275例，女性58例，平均年龄52.45±11.2岁。平均OTT为21.0±6.2天，且受拔牙数量的显著影响（p<0.00）。放疗计划未因口腔牙齿问题而中断。5例患者被诊断为ORN。
按所示进行POC有助于及时清除感染病灶，按计划进行放疗，并通过患者的生存期维持令人满意的口腔健康。
