title: Guidelines for the assessment of oral mucositis in adult chemotherapy, radiotherapy and haematopoietic stem cell transplant patients.
abstract: Oral mucositis (OM) is a serious consequence of some chemotherapy and radiotherapy regimens. A number of reliable instruments are available to assess OM, but none are universally accepted. A unique collaboration of multi-disciplinary experts from Europe was formed to make recommendations on OM assessment, based on a systematic literature review and the experts' experience. The main recommendations are listed. There should be a comprehensive baseline assessment. OM should be frequently assessed using a standardised instrument, or a combination of instruments. Physical, functional and subjective changes should be measured. Subjective measures should be assessed prior to any physical examination. The use of pain scoring, in particular patient self-reporting, should form part of any OM assessment. Any assessment instrument should be validated, easy to use and comfortable for the patient. Training of, and monitoring in, the use of the instrument is vital to successful monitoring of OM.
authors.affiliation: Royal Marsden School of Cancer Nursing and Rehabilitation, London, UK. barry.quinn@rmh.nhs.uk
authors.forename: Barry
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Quinn
authors.forename: Carin M J
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Potting
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Stone
authors.forename: Nicole M A
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Blijlevens
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fliedner
authors.forename: Anita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Margulies
authors.forename: Lena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sharp
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000193:education; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011878:Radiotherapy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013280:Stomatitis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents