4CPS-257 The effectiveness of different oral care solutions in the treatment of chemotherapy-induced oral complications

Background Oral complications are considered the most common debilitating side-effect of chemotherapy. Symptoms include sore throat, pain and oral dryness. These complications affect nutrition, speaking, function and quality of life. Oral solutions contain different category of agents, which have been used for the treatment of these complications. Purpose The aim was to determine the effectiveness of using different oral care solutions for the treatment of chemotherapy-induced oral complications in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. Material and methods A prospective study was carried out on 90 patients with a new diagnosis of diverse types of cancers eligible for different chemotherapeutic regimens at the oncology centre of Dr Lutfi Kirdar Kartal Teaching and Research Hospital in Istanbul, Turkey. Patients were divided into three groups (A, B, C) of 30 patients each and followed-up every 2 weeks. Cancer patients suffering from oral complications within each group were receiving oral care solutions using benzydamine hydrochloride, sodium bicarbonate and glutamine powder, respectively. Patients within each group were evaluated and followed-up using ‘Patient Observation Form’, ‘Oral Mucosa Evaluation Form’ and ‘Visual Analogue Scale’. Results Sociodemographic characteristics regarding sex and smoking habits showed no significant difference (p=0.051; p=0.894), respectively. Patients receiving glutamine powder in Group C showed a significant decrease in oral mucostis (p=0.029). Patients in both Group A and B were suffering significantly from throat pain (p=0.029) compared to patients in group C. Moreover, patients in Group A were suffering significantly from marked oral dryness (p=0.0001). According to the Rotterdam symptom list, physical disturbances of Group B were higher than other groups (p=0.041) at the end of the study. Conclusion Among the most common oral care solutions, glutamine powder was found to be the most effective oral care solution for the treatment of oral complications including mucositis, oral mucosal pain and oral dryness in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. References and/or Acknowledgements 1. Mosel D, Bauer R, Lynch D, Hwang S. Oral complications in the treatment of cancer patients. Oral Diseases2011;17(6):550–9. 2. Raber-Durlacher J, Weijl N, Saris MA, de Koning B, Zwinderman A, Osanto S. Oral mucositis in patients treated with chemotherapy for solid tumours: a retrospective analysis of 150 cases. Supportive Care in Cancer2000;8(5):366–71. No conflict of interest