Oral Hygiene Regimen in Patients on HCT

Oral mucositis is one of the most common debilitating forms of mucositis that arise from high dose chemotherapy and radiotherapy. It is reported that almost 75% patients undergoing hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) develop oral mucositis at different levels of severity. The objective of this prospective study was to assess the efficacy of the addition of supersaturated calcium phosphate oral spray and the addition of an extra soft tooth brush to the basic OH in addition to the currently existing oral hygiene protocol regimen (0.2% Chlorhexidine Gluconate + 3% Sodium Bicarbonate+ Nystatin 100000 U/ml) in reducing the severity of oral mucositis among patients receiving chemotherapy for HCT. 60 patients receiving chemotherapy for HCT were randomly allocated to four groups of 15 patients each The oral mucositis was recorded according to WHO criteria and the progression of the oral mucositis was monitored from the day of admission (day * 1\) to the day of discharge (day 28). The absolute neutrophil count, platelet counts and salivary flow rate of all patients was recorded.