Oral mucositis in patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation.

Thirty patients who received bone marrow transplantation treatment from HLA identical sibling donors for immunologic and malignant diseases were studied. In essentially all of the patients oral changes developed during the first 30 days following transplant. Oral symptoms frequently constituted the major complaints of the patients during the follow-up period. The oral changes included mucositis, xerostomia, pain, and bleeding. Mucositis was more severe and of longer duration when associated with herpes simplex infections and when optimal oral hygiene was not maintained. Xerostomia which accompanies engraftment was an early sign of acute graft-versus-host disease. A nonbrushing method of oral hygiene was effective in reducing the severity and duration of mucositis. This technique offers a short-term alternative to brushing in pancytopenic patients who are susceptible to bleeding or trauma.