Oral mucositis evolution after nutritional intervention in cancer patients under palliative care
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Oral mucositis symptoms bring severe consequences to patients' quality of life and may require partial or complete interruption of cancer treatment. This study aimed at evaluating oral mucositis evolution in cancer patients under palliative care after medical and nutritional intervention and orientation, in addition to analyzing how mucositis interferes with patients' food ingestion. METHOD: Participated in this study 23 patients under palliative care who answered questionnaires with questions regarding number of meals/day, meals consistency, drugs used, oral complaints and life habits. Patients were individually interviewed in the first visit and 15 days after by the physician and the nutritionist considering disease diagnosis and symptoms. RESULTS: 65.2% of patients had mucositis grade I and 46.6% of them consumed solid food. 4.3% of patients had mucositis grade IV and all of them consumed liquid food. At return, 73.9% of patients had no mucositis and from them, 64.7% reported no restriction with regard to diet consistency. Dry mouth had the highest incidence at first visit (86.9% being decreased to 34.7% at treatment completion. Candidiasis, diagnosed in 43.4% of patients was decreased to 13% after the intervention. CONCLUSION: Oral mucositis is very common among cancer patients and the multiprofessional approach is critical for the efficient management of patients under palliative care, respecting their autonomy and quality of life.