Measurement of oral mucositis in children: a review of the literature.
OBJECTIVE
The assessment of oral mucositis is important. There is a paucity of validated oral mucositis assessment instruments for use in children. This paper reviews the available mucositis measurement tools and their applicability to a paediatric population.


METHODS
Literature search of PUBMED and bibliography searches identified articles relevant to mucositis measurement tools and the measurement of mucositis in paediatrics.


RESULTS
The relevant issues in the literature could be grouped into three categories: (1) development and evaluation of oral assessment tools, (2) oral assessment in the paediatric population, and (3) challenges to the assessment of oral mucositis in children. There were numerous validated mucositis assessment scales for use in adults. Only three of these scales have received limited evaluation for use in the paediatric population. The unique challenges presented by the paediatric population are excluded from much of the discussion in the literature.


CONCLUSIONS
The paper demonstrates the need to consider the issues specific to children. It must be determined whether previously developed tools are ideally suited for children enrolled on mucositis clinical trials.
Tomlinson
Deborah
D
CHES, Hospital for Sick Children, Room 424, 123 Edward Street, Toronto, ON, M5G 1E2, Canada. Deborah.Tomlinson@sickkids.ca.
Judd
Peter
P
Paediatric Dentistry, Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Avenue, Toronto, ON, M5G 1X8, Canada.
Hendershot
Eleanor
E
Haematology/Oncology Department, Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Avenue, Toronto, ON, M5G 1X8, Canada.
Maloney
Anne-Marie
AM
Haematology/Oncology Department, Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Avenue, Toronto, ON, M5G 1X8, Canada.
Sung
Lillian
L
CHES, Hospital for Sick Children, Room 424, 123 Edward Street, Toronto, ON, M5G 1E2, Canada.
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019937:Diagnostic Techniques and Procedures / Q000295:instrumentation*; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy; D009864:Ontario; D013280:Stomatitis / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology