Abstract
Background
Chemotherapy for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) is known to render children immuno-deficient. A concomitant suppression of local defence mechanisms, such as saliva may further aggravate the adverse consequences of chemotherapy. The present study was conducted to evaluate alterations in salivary flow rate, pH and buffering capacity and to correlate these parameters with Absolute Neutrophil Counts (ANC).
Methods
A cohort of 43 patients, aged 3–12 years were evaluated for the aforementioned parameters at baseline, post-induction and post-consolidation phases. Salivary collection was done and ANC was measured from routine haematological reports.
Results
A decrease in the salivary parameters was observed at the end of Induction phase as compared to baseline, with a statistically significant decrease in unstimulated salivary flow rates (p < 0.01). Statistically significant positive correlations were found between ANC and salivary flow rate (p = 0.005), pH (p < 0.00) and buffering capacity (p < 0.00). On testing the significance of these correlations, all the values for these parameters were found to be statistically significant.
Conclusion
Salivary parameters showed derangements over the phases of chemotherapy, with maximum decrease at the end of induction phase. The positive correlations of salivary parameters with ANC of the subjects may be considered indicative of a concomitant immunological compromise in these children.
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. The first draft of the manuscript was written by RM and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. RM: conception, Study design, acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation. AK: conception, study design analysis and interpretation. AG: study design, analysis and interpretation. KG: conception, study design. AT: acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Mishra, R., Kapur, A., Goyal, A. et al. Salivary parameters and their correlation with neutrophil counts in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Eur Arch Paediatr Dent 23, 281–287 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40368-021-00679-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40368-021-00679-2