Oral Cryotherapy for Oral Mucositis in Patients Receiving Busulfan: A Retrospective/Prospective Descriptive Study.

Objectives: To determine whether oral cryotherapy (OC) mitigates oral mucositis (OM) resulting from busulfan chemotherapy.

Sample & Setting: Electronic health records of patients undergoing busulfan conditioning for blood and marrow transplantation were reviewed for this descriptive study. The post-OC group received OC with busulfan, but the pre-OC group did not.

Methods & Variables: Demographic and disease characteristics for both groups were summarized using descriptive statistics. Wilcoxon rank-sum test was performed for continuous and ordinal measures, and chi-square tests were performed for categorical outcomes between the two groups.

Results: This study found a decrease in the severity of OM as assessed by the World Health Organization OM scale. This study also found a reduction of total parenteral nutrition and opioid pain medication use, as well as a decrease in length of stay and airway protection-related intensive care unit transfers. An increase in day 11 methotrexate administration for graft-versus-host disease prophylaxis was observed in the post-OC group.

Implications For Nursing: OC is a safe and easily implemented intervention that can decrease OM in patients receiving busulfan chemotherapy.