Abstract:

Oral mucositis has been observed at different severity levels in post stem cell transplant patients. Oral mucositis worsens quality of life in post stem cell transplant patients and facilitates development of infections. Besides these, mucositis related complications extend hospital stays, increase treatment cost, narcotic agent use to control the pain and, parenteral nutrition requirement. Moreover mucositis negatively impacts long-term treatment results. There are several applications to prevent and treat oral mucositis, including but not limited to, basic oral care, low dose laser therapy (LDLT) and cryotherapy. In the studies up to date, it has been observed that professional oral care decreases the severity and duration of oral mucositis in post stem cell transplant patients. LDLT prevents the level of oral mucositis development and accelerates the oral mucositis healing process. It has been identified that concomitant application of LDLT and cryotherapy in patients with oral mucositis, is more beneficial compared to LDLT application alone. This review has been written to overview oral mucositis studies in post stem cell transplant patients.

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