Efficacy of Cryotherapy on Oral Mucositis Prevention among Patients with Head and Neck Cancers Who Undergoing Radiotherapy

Abstract

Mucositis is an important adverse effect of cancer treatment. The aim of this study was to identify the efficacy of cryotherapy on oral mucositis prevention among patients with head and neck cancers who undergoing radiotherapy. Subjects and Methods: quasi-experimental design was conducted on 60 head and neck cancer patients who underwent radiotherapy. The patients were randomly divided into two study and control groups of 30 each. The patients in the study group received instructions for sucking ice cubes before and after each radiotherapy session for five minutes during the study period. Oral assessment and oral mucositis grading as well as its severity were evaluated on the 1 (first), 7 (midst), and 14 (latest) days of the radiotherapy. Four tools were used for data collection: the first tool was questionnaire including sociodemographic and medical data. The second tool was World Health Organization (WHO) Mucositis Scale. The third tool was PatientJudged Mucositis Grading Scale. The fourth tool was Oral Assessment Guide Scale. Results: According to the WHO based oral mucositis scale, in the midst day ((7) of radiotherapy, the percentage of oral mucositis with grade two in the study group (20%) was significantly lower than the control group (46.7%; P< 0.001). The percentage of oral mucositis in the study group based on the Patient-Judged Oral Mucositis Scale (10% & 16.7% respectively) was lower than the control group (60% & 50% respectively) at the midst (7) and latest (14) day of radiotherapy. The findings of this study indicated that patients who underwent cryotherapy had less severe oral mucositis based on both WHO (P< 0.001) and patient oral mucositis scales (P< 0.001). Conclusion: The results of this research concluded that there was significant difference was observed in mucositis intensity between the study and control groups, patients using ice cubes during radiotherapy sessions felt more comfort in their oral cavity.