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Effectiveness of photobiomodulation in cancer patients with oral mucositis

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Abstract

Introduction

Mucositis occurs in more than 40% of chemotherapy-treated patients, significantly reducing their quality of life and increasing interventions for adequate analgesia and nutrition, as well as length of hospital stay. Many different interventions have been evaluated to reduce oral mucositis. Good results have recently been achieved with photobiomodulation (PBM), a technique that has practically no side effects.

Objective

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of PBM in the treatment of oral mucositis in patients with leukemia or lymphoma at the Hospital Nossa Senhora da Conceição (HNSC).

Method

Accordingly, an observational retrospective cohort study was conducted with 60 patients with leukemia or lymphoma, comparing time for clinical improvement of oral mucositis in the groups with and without PBM. We included patients of both sexes, 18 years or older, admitted to the HNSC Hematology/Oncology Department from January 2015 to December 2017.

Results

The mean time to resolution of oral mucositis in the PBM-treated group was 7.1 ± 2.57 days and 14.1 ± 6.89 days in the group without PBM (p < 0.001).

Conclusion

PBM was shown to be more effective in reducing oral mucositis compared with the standard treatment protocol alone.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduation Program on Evaluation and Production of Technologies for the Brazilian National Health System, Hospital Nossa Senhora da Conceição, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

    Fernando Anschau, Jacqueline Webster, Marcelo Eduardo Zanella Capra & Airton Tetelbom Stein

  2. Escola de Medicina, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil

    Fernando Anschau

  3. Hospitalar Conceição Group, Av Francisco Trein 596, Porto Alegre, RS, 9CEP:91350200, Brazil

    Fernando Anschau

  4. Department of Public Health, Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

    Airton Tetelbom Stein

Authors
  1. Fernando Anschau
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  2. Jacqueline Webster
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  3. Marcelo Eduardo Zanella Capra
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  4. Airton Tetelbom Stein
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Fernando Anschau.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

The study was approved by the GHC Research Ethics Committee (protocol CEP/GHC No 2.504.913/CAAE 82641317.6.0000.5530).

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Anschau, F., Webster, J., Capra, M.E.Z. et al. Effectiveness of photobiomodulation in cancer patients with oral mucositis. Laser Dent Sci 4, 225–229 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41547-020-00110-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41547-020-00110-x

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