Department of Community Health Sciences, Aga Khan University Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan.
Department of Oncology, Aga Khan University Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan.
PLoS One. 2024 Apr 16;19(4):e0295456. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0295456. eCollection 2024.
Oral mucositis is an inflammatory condition of oral cavity which is a common and serious side effect of cancer treatment. Severe oral mucositis compromises basic functions like eating and swallowing causing malnutrition also affecting overall patient's oral health related quality of life. The aim of the study was to find the frequency of oral mucositis in patients with breast cancer during their chemotherapy, the factors associated with oral mucositis & the overall patient's oral health related quality of life.
A cross-sectional study was conducted and a total of 160 women diagnosed with breast cancer, receiving chemotherapy and who had undergone at least one cycle of chemotherapy were recruited from two hospital settings. In-person interviews were done, patients were asked questions about their sociodemographic history, personal habits, oral history and oral findings, breast cancer stage, chemotherapy history and Oral Health Related Quality of Life. Their oral examination was done at the end of the interview to assess presence or absence of oral mucositis, using World Health Organization oral mucositis tool. Oral Health Related Quality of Life was assessed using Oral Health Impact Profile-14 questionnaire.
Our results showed that out of 160 patients 88 (55%) of the breast cancer cases developed oral mucositis during chemotherapy. The mean Oral Health Impact Profile -14 scores in patients with oral mucositis was high 18.36±0.96 showing poor Oral Health Related Quality of Life. Occasional frequency of brushing was significantly associated with oral mucositis (Prevalence ratio:2.26, 95%_CI 1.06-4.84) compared to those patients who brushed once and twice daily. Low level of education showed negative association with oral mucositis (Prevalence ratio:0.52, 95%_CI 0.31-0.88).
Our study showed significant positive association of occasional brushing with OM and protective association of low level of education with the development of OM. Emphasis should be given to oral hygiene instructions and dental education to cancer patients in oncology clinics with the prescription of mouth washes, gels and toothpaste to patients to decrease OM during chemotherapy.
口腔黏膜炎是一种口腔炎症，是癌症治疗的常见且严重的副作用。严重的口腔黏膜炎会影响基本的进食和吞咽功能，导致营养不良，并影响患者整体口腔健康相关的生活质量。本研究旨在发现乳腺癌患者在化疗过程中口腔黏膜炎的发生频率、与口腔黏膜炎相关的因素以及患者整体口腔健康相关的生活质量。
本研究采用横断面研究，共招募了 160 名在两家医院接受化疗且至少接受过一个周期化疗的乳腺癌患者。通过面对面访谈，了解患者的社会人口学史、个人习惯、口腔史和口腔发现、乳腺癌分期、化疗史和口腔健康相关生活质量。访谈结束后，对患者进行口腔检查，使用世界卫生组织口腔黏膜炎工具评估口腔黏膜炎的有无。使用口腔健康影响简表-14 问卷评估口腔健康相关生活质量。
我们的结果显示，在 160 例乳腺癌患者中，有 88 例（55%）在化疗期间发生口腔黏膜炎。患有口腔黏膜炎的患者的口腔健康影响简表-14 评分平均值较高，为 18.36±0.96，表明口腔健康相关生活质量较差。与每天刷牙 1 次或 2 次的患者相比，偶尔刷牙与口腔黏膜炎显著相关（患病率比：2.26，95%可信区间 1.06-4.84）。低教育水平与口腔黏膜炎呈负相关（患病率比：0.52，95%可信区间 0.31-0.88）。
我们的研究表明，偶尔刷牙与 OM 呈显著正相关，而低教育水平与 OM 的发生呈负相关。在肿瘤学诊所，应重视对癌症患者的口腔卫生指导和口腔健康教育，并为患者开具漱口水、凝胶和牙膏等处方，以减少化疗期间的 OM。
