Alloporinol, chamomile and normal saline mouthwashes for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced stomatitis

Abstract

Background: Stomatitis is a common side effect in patients receiving chemotherapy. It alters survival because of the risk of infection and has a significant impact on the quality of life, causing treatment delays, nutritional deficiencies and increasing the cost of care. The aim of this study was to determine and compare the efficacy of Alloporinol, Chamomile and normal saline mouthwashes in the prevention of chemotherapy-induced Stomatitis. Methods: A randomized, double-blind clinical trial was conducted on 83 patients receiving chemotherapy. ANOVA, ?2, Kaplan Meyer and T-test have been used for analyzing the data. Results: Significant differences were found between Alloporinol, Chamomile and normal saline groups in the scores of the severity of Stomatitis (P=0.017), Stomatitis pain (P=0.027) and in the persistence of Stomatitis. No significant differences were noted among the mean Stomatitis (P=0.59), Stomatitis pain (0.071) and the severity scores of the Alloporinol and Chamomile groups. Conclusions: These findings indicate the equal efficacy of Alloporinol and Chamomile in the prevention of chemotherapy-induced Stomatitis as compared to the normal saline control group. Considering the cost and easy accessibility of Chamomile and its potential therapeutic applicability in the reduction of the severity of chemotherapy-induced Stomatitis, it has been implied for the prevention of the same.