Investigating Oral Mucositis Prevalence and its Related Factors in 80 Patients Undergone Bone Marrow Transplantation

Abstract

Introduction: Oral mucositis is one of the most important side effects of chemotherapy. Bone marrow transplantation is one of the common ways to rescue many patients’ life, therefore, this study intended to investigate the prevalence of oral mucositis and its related factors (age-gender-type of transplantation –site of involvement-smoking-medication except chemotherapy drugs-history of chemotherapy-allergy-oral hygiene) in patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation in Tehran Shariaty hospital during 1 year. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 80 patients with BMT. The sampling method was sequential and the study data were gleaned via inspection, clinical examination, questionnaire, medical record examinations in Tehran Shariaty hospital. After collecting the data, SPSS statistic software (version 11/5) was utilized via applying chi-square test in order to analyze the study data. Results: Out of 80 patients (50 men and 30 women), 65 persons (81/25 %) were reported to have oral mucositis. Most of the patients revealed more than 2 involved regions. Among related factors, a significant relationship was found between history of chemotherapy and mucositis. Conclusion: According to high prevalence of oral mucositis in patients undergoing BMT (81/25 %), oral mucositis is supposed to be one of the most serious side effects of chemotherapy drugs, which requires more effective solutions to be controlled so as patients’ quality of life could be improved.

Keywords

• Bone marrow transplantation
• Chemotherapy drugs
• Oral mucositis