This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Chen, C.-F. Articles by Chang, Y.-C. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Chen, C.-F. Articles by Chang, Y.-C. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Assessment of Chemotherapy-Induced Oral Complications in Children With Cancer

Department of Nursing, TriService General Hospital in Taipei, Taiwan

Ru-Hwa Wang, DNS, RN

No. 59, Alley 5, Lane 24, Sec 3, Ting-Chou Road, 100, Taipei, Taiwan, R. O. C.chencf33{at}ms35.hinet.net.

Shin-Nan Cheng, PhD

Department of Pediatrics, Tri-Service General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan

Yue-Cune Chang, PhD

Department of Mathematics, Tamkang University, Taiwan

Objective: To assess children with cancer for oral complications using the oral assessment guide (OAG) and ascertain the efficacy of an oral hygiene care regimen in children undergoing chemotherapy and at 1 to 2 weeks postchemotherapy administration. Methods: Thirty pediatric cancer patients with either leukemia or lymphoma were randomly selected from 3 medical centers. A quasi-experimental design was used to evaluate the difference between pre- and post-oral hygiene care. Descriptive and inferential statistical techniques were used to analyze the data. The interrater agreement between the nurse and the dentist was calculated using a Kappa score. A paired t test was to examine the difference between preand post-oral hygiene care regimen. Results: The OAG scores ranged from 8 to 24. The higher the score, the more severe the oral complications. Ninety-six percent of the participants had a score [. greaterequal] 9, on the pre-test, 26. 7% had an OAG score [. greaterequal] 12. Oral complications included ulcerated mucous membranes, dry lips, deeper or raspy voice, and oral debris. No scores were [. greaterequal] 12 on the OAG following the posttest. The oral hygiene care regimen significantly improved oral assessment among patients (P <. 05). Conclusions: The authors postulate that the OAG and oral hygiene care regimen may be clinically useful in improving oral assessment and hygiene in children with cancer during and after chemotherapy, thus decreasing associated infection and enhancing patient comfort.

Key Words: pediatric cancer • mucositis • stomatitis • oral assessment

Journal of Pediatric Oncology Nursing, Vol. 21, No. 1, 33-39 (2004)
DOI: 10.1177/1043454203259947


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				D. Tomlinson, P. Judd, E. Hendershot, A.-M. Maloney, and L. Sung Establishing Literature-Based Items for an Oral Mucositis Assessment Tool in Children Journal of Pediatric Oncology Nursing, June 1, 2008; 25(3): 139 - 147. [Abstract] [PDF]