STIMULATED SALIVARY FLOW AND MAXIMUM MOUTH OPENING AT DIFFERENT TIMES POSTRADIOTHERAPY: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

• Published in: Oral surgery, oral medicine, oral pathology and oral radiology Vol. 130; no. 3; p. e267
• Main Authors: PALMA, VICTOR DE MELLO, THOMAS, ALEXANDER, TORRIANI, EVA AGUIAR ALMEIDA CAMPOS CASTRO, SILVA, LUISA BERLATO, DANESI, CRISTIANE CADEMARTORI, FERRAZZO, KíVIA LINHARES
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Inc 01-09-2020
• DOI: 10.1016/j.oooo.2020.04.722
• EISSN: 2212-4411
• ISSN: 2212-4403

Objective: This study evaluated the prevalence of trismus and hyposalivation in patients who received radiotherapy and the correlation between the time elapsed after radiotherapy with stimulated salivary flow (SSF), maximum mouth opening (MMO), and quality of life (QoL). Study Design: Measurements of SSF and MMO were obtained from 52 patients who had oral and oropharyngeal cancer and were treated with radiotherapy. Trismus was defined as MMO ≤35 mm, and hyposalivation was defined as SSF less than 0.5 mL/min. QoL was evaluated through University of Washington QoL questionnaire. Results: Hyposalivation and trismus were observed in 80% and 64% of patients, respectively. The mean SSF ±standard deviation (SD) was 0.43 ± 0.77 mL/min and the mean MMO ± SD was 31.40 ± 10.14 mm. A large decrease of SSF was observed in the first 12 months, followed by a gradual increase, with positive correlation between time elapsed after radiotherapy and SSF (P = .015). MMO decreased gradually to 36 months and then began to increase after this time, but there was no statistical association between time and MMO. There was a positive correlation between QoL and SSF (P = .036) and MMO (P = .010). Conclusion: Trismus and hyposalivation exhibit high prevalence in patients with head and neck cancer who received radiotherapy for and effect their QoL. SSF improves with the passage of time, especially from the month 12 onward.