Pai Radhika R, Ongole Ravikiran, Banerjee Sourjya
Fundamentals of Nursing Department, Manipal College of Nursing, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India.
Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Manipal College of Dental Sciences Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India.
Sci Rep. 2025 Jul 9;15(1):24726. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-10598-7.
Patients receiving head and neck radiotherapy/chemoradiation may experience a notable and frequent decline in their oral health due to oral complications, including restricted mouth opening, oral mucositis, dry mouth, halitosis, infection, and oral pain. The main aim of this study was to describe the oral complications arising from post-Radiotherapy/chemoradiation among HNC patients through a retrospective survey of 80 patient records. This study collected patients' comorbid illness and treatment details alongside oral complications. The record review included one-year follow-up details of HNC patients post-completion of radiotherapy/chemoradiation. Among the 80 patients who completed head and neck radiotherapy, 23 experienced interrupted treatment. Among them, most (15%) did not tolerate chemotherapy, which is part of chemoradiation. Thirty-four patients were followed up for oral complications. Most patients experienced symptoms of restricted mouth opening 12(15%), mucositis 6(7.5%), and oral pain 5(6.25%) as oral complications during the subsequent follow-up. Approximately 14 patients reported HNC recurrence. These postradiotherapy/chemoradiation-related oral complications pose a difficult challenge to patients and their caregivers. Awareness of such oral complications will enable healthcare providers to recognize and institute early interventions to provide patients with a better quality of life.
接受头颈部放疗/放化疗的患者可能会因口腔并发症而出现明显且频繁的口腔健康下降，这些并发症包括张口受限、口腔黏膜炎、口干、口臭、感染和口腔疼痛。本研究的主要目的是通过对80份患者记录的回顾性调查，描述头颈部癌症（HNC）患者放疗/放化疗后出现的口腔并发症。本研究收集了患者的合并症、治疗细节以及口腔并发症情况。记录回顾包括HNC患者放疗/放化疗结束后的一年随访细节。在完成头颈部放疗的80名患者中，有23名经历了治疗中断。其中，大多数（15%）不耐受作为放化疗一部分的化疗。34名患者接受了口腔并发症随访。在随后的随访中，大多数患者出现了张口受限12例（15%）、黏膜炎6例（7.5%）和口腔疼痛5例（6.25%）等口腔并发症症状。约14名患者报告HNC复发。这些放疗/放化疗相关的口腔并发症给患者及其护理人员带来了艰巨挑战。了解此类口腔并发症将使医疗保健提供者能够识别并尽早进行干预，从而为患者提供更好的生活质量。
