Adherence of head and neck câncer patients to laser photobiomodulation for oral mucositis management in a public health service: a pilot study

Abstract

Evaluate the adherence of patients with head and neck cancer who underwent radiotherapy or radio-chemotherapy combined to the preventive laser photobiomodulation protocol in a public health service. Methods: Thirty head and neck câncer patients undergoing cancer treatment, which were examined and interviewed through a record of signs and symptoms of oral mucositis (OM) and adherence to the preventive laser protocol that began in the first session of radiotherapy, and included the laser application three times a week during a 3-week period. The collected data were documented, and the descriptive and inferential statistics were performed with a significance level of p <0.05. Results: It was observed that 66.6% of patients developed OM. There was a predominance of degrees I and II, with 36.8% and 31.6%, respectively. A total of eleven patients (36.3%) missed one or more laser photo-biomodulation sessions. A positive association was found between patients who missed at least four laser photo-biomodulation sessions with the development of OM degrees III (p <0.05). Conclusion: The adherence of patients with head and neck cancer to the laser photobiomodulation protocol was great and the development of more severe degrees of OM was related to individuals not attending scheduled sessions.