Oral mucositis in leukemic Saudi children following chemotherapy

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence and severity of oral mucositis (OM) in Saudi children newly diagnosed with Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) following chemotherapy, and to evaluate the significance of independent risk factors (age, gender, parents' educational level, family income, oral hygiene practices, dietary habits and different chemotherapy regimens) on the development of OM. Methods: Sixty Saudi children newly diagnosed with ALL of both genders, aged (6-14 years) were examined and their parents were interviewed and asked to fill a questionnaire before and within the third week of receiving chemotherapy. The World Health Organization's (WHO) oral toxicity scale was used to record OM. Results: The prevalence of OM was 23.3% with a mean age of 8.36 (2.98). 92.9% High risk patients had OM and 7.1% with Low risk patients. The results showed a highly significant difference between oral hygiene practices before and within the third week of receiving chemotherapy in relation to OM. Also, there were strong associations between presence of OM, and frequency of oral hygiene practice in and dietary habits within the third week of receiving chemotherapy. Conclusion: There is a strong correlation between oral hygiene practices and the developmental severity of OM in ALL children before and during chemotherapy treatment. Oral mucositis severity associated with chemotherapy treatment has a significant effect on the dietary habits of ALL children and the use of different treatment regimens with ALL children is considered to be an important risk factor for the development of OM.