Shu-Yuan Liang
National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences, Taiwan
Title: Effectiveness of the standardized protocol for prevention and management of oral mucositis
Biography
Biography: Shu-Yuan Liang
Abstract
Background: Despite advancements in cancer treatment increase survival rates for head and neck cancer (HNC), the therapy also induce serious side effects. It is important to apply more evidence base approaches to deal with the side effects of oral mucositis (OM) caused by chemotherapy. Objective: The purpose of this study was to test effectiveness of the OM guideline for the quality of life (QOL) in Taiwanese patients with HNC. Methods: This research involved a prospective, repeated measure, quasi-experimental design with a control group. A convenience sample of 60 patients with HNC was recruited from one medical centre in Taipei area. The experimental group received the clinical practice guideline of OM (CPGOMCP), the control group maintained on their routine care. The QOLwas measured with the Chinese version of European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QLQ-HN35 at baseline and on day 10 and day 14 after the intervention . Results: The generalised estimating equation showed statistically significant group-by-time interactions in QOL. Using the control group as the reference group and baseline as the reference time, the experimental group had significantly reducing the impact of mucositis on patients’ QOL than the control group after the intervention: on day 10 (β = -0.91, p <.001) (Likert 4-point)/(β= -2.73, p <.001) (dichotomy) and day 14 (β = -1.10, p <.001) (Likert 4-point)/(β= -3.57, p <.001) (dichotomy). Conclusions: The study findings support the effectiveness of the OM guideline in alleviating the impact of OM on patients’ QOL.