EVALUATION OF THE IMPACT OF ORAL HYGIENE ASSOCIATED WITH CHAMOMILE TEA IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF ORAL MUCOSITIS IN CANCER PATIENTS UNDERGOING CHEMOTHERAPY – PILOT STUDY
Description
The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of the use of chamomile tea associated with a rigorous oral hygiene in the OM’s prevention. It was a randomized pilot clinical study, in which thirty-five patients were allocated into two groups. The case group underwent oral hygiene control associated with the use of chamomile tea before starting the first cycle of chemotherapy, and in the control group, there were no previous guidelines and prescriptions. Data regarding sociodemographic characteristics, the neoplasia in question and the type of chemotherapy treatment proposed were collected. The variables OM, salivary flow and pain associated to the oral cavity were evaluated, and statistical analysis was performed with significance level p <0.05. It was observed that the majority of the patients had a mean age of 50 years, the most prevalent tumor site was the breast (57%) and the most frequently used drug was cyclosphamide (52%). In this sample, no statistically significant result was observed between the groups regarding the OM, salivary flow and pain variables (p> 0.05). These data suggest that the use of chamomile tea and the accuracy of oral hygiene were not enough to prevent OM.