title: The 20 item oral mucositis index: reliability and validity in bone marrow and stem cell transplant patients.
abstract: Precise quantification of oral complications in cancer patients receiving bone marrow and stem cell transplantation is essential when testing new treatment strategies for mucositis. Using 133 adult transplant patients, the authors evaluated the 20 item oral mucositis index (OMI), adapted from the 34 item OMI, to facilitate use by nondental health professionals. The OMI-20 consists of nine items measuring erythema, nine measuring ulceration, one measuring atrophy, and one measuring edema; all are scored from 0 = none to 3 = severe and summed for a total possible score of 0-60. The two sets of nine items measuring erythema and ulceration can also be summed separately to produce subscale scores ranging from 0 to 27. Results demonstrated internal consistency, test-retest, and inter-rater reliability, and strong evidence of construct validity. Provided that clinical examiners have appropriate training and experience, the OMI-20 can be used as a reliable, valid, and quantifiable measure of mucositis in clinical research.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania, 420 Guardian Drive, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. dmcguire@nursing.upenn.edu
authors.forename: Deborah B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: McGuire
authors.forename: Douglas E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Peterson
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Muller
authors.forename: Donna C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Owen
authors.forename: Marina F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Slemmons
authors.forename: Mark M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Schubert
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000473:pathology; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy; D015588:Observer Variation; D009909:Oral Health; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D013280:Stomatitis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires