Avaliação da eficácia da Matricaria recutita linn. na prevenção e controle da mucosite oral radioinduzida

Abstract

Oral mucositis is considered one of the most important e most frequent accute side effects in the non-surgical anti-neoplasic treatments and can be defined as an oral mucosa inflammation, extremely painful and weakening, which is induced by cytotoxic drugs and/or irradiation. The aim of this research is to evaluate effectiveness of Matriacaria recutita Linn. (chamomile) in the prevention and control ofradio-induced, oral mucositis , in patients suffering from head and neck malignant neoplasms, being treated at Dr. Napoleão Laureano Hospital as well as Paraiba Assistential Foundation, in the period between May 2010 and May 2011. It was an experimental, prospective, single-blinded clinical study controlled by chlorhexidine gluconate. The sample was composed by 22 patients, divided into 3 groups. In group I (experimental) (n=7) patients were treated with camomile gel at 3%, when they started the radio therapy treatment proceeding to its end; group II (positive control) (n=7), chlorhexidine gluconate gel at 1% was used only as mucositis appeared, until symptoms disappeared; group III (experimental) (n=8) treated mucositis with camomile gel at 3% only as oral mucositis appeared. Data were tabled in program SPSS 15, descriptive analysis was accomplished and Chi-Square tests applied, as well as coefficient p from Spearman, tests U from Mann-Whitney and Kruskall-Wallis, being considered significant values p≤0,05. Most patients were male, average age 65.9, having their tongues as the most frequent tumor location. In group I, only one patient did not present oral mucositis at all during radio therapy treatment; however, oral mucositis in other patients of the group occurred, in equivalent radiation proportions as compared to groups II and III. Regular progress of mucositis was compared among the 3 groups from the appearance, in 3 consecutive moments, by means of Kruskall-Wallis test. Results did not point to statistically significant differences among the 3 groups with p>0,05, but through descriptive data, observed that the group II showed the clinical improvement of oral mucositis treatment in less time when using chlorhexidine gluconate gel, while in Group III clinical improvement of mucositis occurred in a longer period when compared to other groups. One concluded in this study that, camomile did not present prophylactic effect for the appearance of oral mucositis. However, it was effective with relation to the decrease of severity in most patients during treatment in most patients.