Oral Complications in Patients Receiving Radiotherapy in the Head and Neck Region with or without Chemotherapy Refering to Milad Hospital from 2020-2021

 Oral complications can significantly impact not only the treatment process of patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy but also their overall quality of life. This study aimed to evaluate the frequency of oral complications in patients undergoing radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy in Milad Hospital of Isfahan in 2020-2021.

 This descriptive and analytical study was conducted on 43 patients diagnosed with cancer who were admitted to the chemotherapy and radiotherapy department at Milad Hospital. Two dental students examined the patients for oral lesions and complications. The data were recorded in SPSS and analyzed using Spearman's correlation, Fisher's exact test, Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and the t-test (p-value < 0.05).

Among the 43 patients, the most common oral lesions included mucositis, xerostomia, taste dysfunction and dysphasia. Statistically significant correlations were found between mucosal hemorrhage and cancer site, oropharyngeal ulcer and average radiotherapy dose, mucositis grade and average radiotherapy dose, xerostomia and average radiotherapy dose, and nausea and average radiotherapy dose. However, no significant relationships were observed between other factors and the study variables.

 The intensity of some complications caused by radiotherapy on oral mucosa, including mucositis, xerostomia, oropharynx ulcer and neusa in patients, increased with higher radiations doses. Therefore, clinicians can potentially manage oral complications more effectively by implementing various strategies, including carefully controlling radiotherapy doses and providing comprehensive oral hygiene education to patien