Photo-Biomodulation as a prevention and management modality of oral mucositis in patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: clinical study

Aim: To observe the effectiveness of a Photo-Biomodulation (PBM) protocol as a prevention and management modality for Oral Mucositis (OM) in patients undergoing conditioning regimen for allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (aHSCT). Introduction: OM is one of the major debilitating complications of aHSCT. PBM has been recommended as a prophylactic intervention for OM in patients undergoing aHSCT. The absence of a standardized protocol and technical parameters for prevention of OM is still the principal limit. Materials and Methods: Forty-nine patients undergoing aHSCT were included in this study and divided into three groups; Observational Group (OG): 9 patients (3 females and 6 males) were subjected to PBM five sessions a week when the OM was developed till the complete resolution. Preventive Group (PG): 20 patients (7 females and 13 males) were subjected to PBM five sessions a week starting at one day before the conditioning regimen till the 10th day after transplantation (D+10). Retrospective Control Group (CG): 20 patients (10 females and 10 males) were selected to compare the obtained results. At each session, the OM score, pain value, count of blood cells, and the morphine dosage were recorded. Results: The mean duration of OM in PG (4.7 days) was significantly lower than CG (15 days) (p<0.05). Only 40% of PG showed severe OM, while it was shown in 85% of the CG (p<0.05). OM was not developed in 8 patients of the PG (with grade 0). Conclusion: The study demonstrates that the preventive PBM protocol reduced the severity and duration of OM in patients undergoing aHSCT.