The effect of topical chamomile in the prevention of chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis: A randomized clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE: To clinically assess the effectiveness of topical chamomile oral gel in the prevention of chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A parallel single-blind randomized clinical trial conducted on 45 patients who were undergoing chemotherapy. Patients were assigned to three equal groups. Group I received conventional symptomatic treatment that included antifungal agents (Miconaz oral gel, Medical Union Pharmaceuticals), topical anesthetics, and anti-inflammatory agent (BBC oral spray, Amoun Pharmaceutical Company) three times per day for three weeks, group II received 3% chamomile topical oral gel, whereas group III patients were given both conventional symptomatic treatment and chamomile topical oral gel. All patients were clinically assessed for pain and oral mucositis severity at three separate time intervals: 1 week, 2 weeks, and 3 weeks. RESULTS: Most patients experienced oral mucositis with more severity reported in the conventional group (grade III = 6.7%) compared to the other two groups, neither of which developed more than grade II. Mean pain scores showed no significant difference between the groups, but intragroup analysis showed that pain score increased in the conventional treatment group more than the other two groups. CONCLUSION: Topical chamomile 3% gel has demonstrated in this study to lower the severity of the mucositis with lower pain scores compared to the other two groups.