Objective

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of cryotherapy on the prevention of oral mucositis (OM) and on the oral pH value in patients with multiple myeloma undergoing autologous stem cell transplantation.

Data Sources

This nonrandomized controlled clinical trial was carried out in Bone Marrow Transplant Centers of three hospitals with total 32 patients. In addition to standard oral care, a total of 80 minutes of cryotherapy was applied to the experimental group. OM was assessed according to the World Health Organization's Oral Toxicity Scale before chemotherapy and for 21 days after chemotherapy (every day in the first 14 days, then every other day until the 21st day [if not discharged]).

Conclusion

According to the findings, cryotherapy did not change the incidence of oral OM, and neither affected the severity of nor decreased the duration of it. Oral pH value was found to be significantly different between the patient groups only before and 1 day after chemotherapy.

Implications for Nursing Practice

Cryotherapy is an inexpensive, easy-to-use method with no side effects; it would be beneficial to continue cryotherapy to prevent the development of OM in patients with cancer receiving drugs with a short half-life such as melphalan. It is also recommended to conduct further studies with different chemotherapy drugs with short half-lives to determine its effect on the prevention of OM development.

中文翻译：

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冷冻疗法对多发性骨髓瘤自体干细胞移植患者口腔粘膜炎预防及口腔pH值的影响

 客观的

本研究的目的是评估冷冻疗法对预防口腔粘膜炎 (OM) 以及对接受自体干细胞移植的多发性骨髓瘤患者口腔 pH 值的有效性。

 数据源

这项非随机对照临床试验在三家医院的骨髓移植中心进行，共有32名患者。除了标准的口腔护理外，实验组还接受了总计80分钟的冷冻治疗。化疗前和化疗后 21 天根据世界卫生组织的口腔毒性量表评估 OM（前 14 天每天一次，然后每隔一天一次，直到第 21 天[如果未出院]）。

 结论

研究结果显示，冷冻疗法不会改变口腔 OM 的发生率，也不会影响其严重程度，也不会缩短其持续时间。仅在化疗前和化疗后 1 天，患者组之间的口腔 pH 值存在显着差异。

对护理实践的影响

冷冻疗法是一种廉价、易于使用且无副作用的方法；对于接受马法兰等半衰期短的药物的癌症患者来说，继续冷冻治疗有助于预防 OM 的发展。还建议对不同半衰期短的化疗药物进行进一步研究，以确定其预防 OM 发展的效果。