Published online May 6, 2023. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v11.i13.2966
Peer-review started: December 21, 2022
First decision: February 8, 2023
Revised: March 7, 2023
Accepted: April 4, 2023
Article in press: April 4, 2023
Published online: May 6, 2023
Palliative care (PC) aims to improve quality of life in patients and its families against life threatening diseases, through suffering’s prevention and relief. It is the duty of the dental surgeon to possess the knowledge needed to treat a patient with little life span, in order to establish an adequate treatment plan for each situation.
To synthesize the published evidence on oral conditions, impact, management and challenges in managing oral conditions among palliative patients.
Articles were selected from PubMed and Scopus electronic platforms, using a research strategy with diverse descriptors related to “palliative care”, “cancer” and “oral health”. The article’s selection was done in two phases. The first one was performed by the main researcher through the reading of the abstracts. In the second phase two researchers selected eligible articles after reading in full those previous selected. Data was tabulated and analyzed, obtaining information about what is found in literature related to this subject and what is necessary to be approached in future researches about PC.
As results, the total of 15 articles were eligible, being one a qualitative analysis, 13 (92.8%) clinical trials and one observational study. Of the 15 articles, 8 (53.4%) involved questionnaires, while the rest involved: one systematic review about oral care in a hospital environment, 2 oral exams and oral sample collection, one investigation of terminal patient’s (TP) oral assessment records, 2 collection of oral samples and their respective analysis and one treatment of the observed oral complications.
It can be concluded that the oral manifestations in oncologic patients in terminal stage are, oral candidiasis, dry mouth, dysphagia, dysgeusia, oral mucositis and orofacial pain. Determining a protocol for the care of these and other complications of cancer – or cancer therapy – based on scientific evidence with the latest cutting-edge research results is of fundamental importance for the multidisciplinary team that works in the care of patients in PC. To prevent complications and its needed to initial the dentist as early as possible as a multidisciplinary member. It has been suggested palliative care protocol based on the up to date literature available for some frequent oral complications in TP with cancer. Other complications in terminal patients and their treatments still need to have further studying.
Core Tip: Palliative care aims to improve quality of life in patients in terminal diseases, through suffering’s prevention and relief. It is the duty of the dental surgeon to possess the knowledge needed to treat them. This integrative review aimed to synthesize the published evidence on oral conditions and their management among palliative patients. The most prevalent oral manifestations in end-stage cancer patients are xerostomia, oral candidiasis, dysphagia, dysgeusia, oral mucositis, and orofacial pain. Information on the behavior of oral manifestations and their treatments is lacking and there is little participation of the dental community. Also, updated protocols should be stablished. Palliative care, oral lesion, terminal patients Palliative care, oral lesion, terminal patients.