Purpose: The purpose of this project was to evaluate research in basic oral care interventions to update evidence-based practice guidelines for preventing and treating oral mucositis (OM) in cancer patients undergoing radio- or chemotherapy.
Methods: A systematic review of available literature was conducted by the Basic Oral Care Section of the Mucositis Study Group of MASCC/ISOO. Seven interventions--oral care protocols, dental care, normal saline, sodium bicarbonate, mixed medication mouthwash, chlorhexidine, and calcium phosphate--were evaluated using the Hadorn (J Clin Epidemiol 49:749-754, 1996) criteria to determine level of evidence, followed by a guideline determination of one of the following: recommendation, suggestion, or no guideline possible, using Somerfield's (Classic Pap Cur Comments 4:881-886, 2000) schema.
Results: Fifty-two published papers were examined by treatment population (radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and hematopoietic stem cell transplant) and by whether the intervention aimed to prevent or treat OM. The resulting practice suggestions included using oral care protocols for preventing OM across all treatment modalities and age groups and not using chlorhexidine mouthwash for preventing OM in adults with head and neck cancer undergoing radiotherapy. Considering inadequate and/or conflicting evidence, no guidelines for prevention or treatment of OM were possible for the interventions of dental care, normal saline, sodium bicarbonate, mixed medication mouthwash, chlorhexidine in patients receiving chemotherapy or hematopoietic stem cell transplant, or calcium phosphate.
Conclusions: The evidence for basic oral care interventions supports the use of oral care protocols in patient populations receiving radiation and/or chemotherapy and does not support chlorhexidine for prevention of mucositis in head and neck cancer patients receiving radiotherapy. Additional well-designed research is needed for other interventions to improve the amount and quality of evidence guiding future clinical care.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00520-013-1942-0 | DOI Listing |
BMC Health Serv Res
January 2025
Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, 21205, USA.
Background: Since the inception of the ASHAs in the year 2005, their work horizons have increased from Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent health (RMNCH + A), Communicable and Non-Communicable Diseases (CD & NCD) to oral health, ophthalmologic care, and other supportive community level healthcare services. The present literature lacks comprehensive understanding and synthesis of domain-wise knowledge of ASHAs and the factors affecting their knowledge. Therefore, this study aimed to synthesize and collate the relevant evidence to understand the overall knowledge of ASHAs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Oral Health
January 2025
Department of Odontology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Nørre Allé 20, Copenhagen, 2200, Denmark.
Background: A large number of older people depend on others for help with their daily personal care, including oral health care. Nursing home and elder-care staff often face challenges identifying older people, who are exposed to or at an increased risk of oral diseases. Thus, the aim of this study was to identify risk factors that non-dental care staff can use to identify older people at risk of oral diseases and poor oral hygiene.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Oral Health
January 2025
Department of General and Liberal Studies, School of Basic and Biomedical Sciences, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Ghana.
Background: There is a paucity of data on oral health problems among the residents of Fanteakwa districts (South and North) in the Eastern region of Ghana. Therefore, this study assessed the prevalence and factors associated with self-reported oral health problems in the Fanteakwa districts of Ghana.
Methods: This community-based cross-sectional study targeted residents of the towns of the Fanteakwa districts, who have not had any dental care visit in the past six months preceding the study.
J Relig Health
January 2025
Department of Healthcare Administration, Asia University, Taichung, 41354, Taiwan.
Spirituality care plays an important role in holistic healthcare. Our previous study found Muslim psychiatric inpatients encounter significant obstacles that hinder their ability to engage in a formal prayer practice in the hospital. To address this gap, we aimed to develop a spirituality and religious needs inventory specifically for Muslim psychiatric inpatients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Communication barriers are known to adversely affect patient safety. Yet few health systems assess and track physician non-English language proficiency for use in clinical settings. Barriers to current assessments (usually simulated clinician oral proficiency interviews) include time constraints and lack of interactivity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!