Measurement of oral mucositis in children: a review of the literature

Goals of work The assessment of oral mucositis is important. There is a paucity of validated oral mucositis assessment instruments for use in children. This paper reviews the available mucositis measurement tools and their applicability to a paediatric population. Materials and methods Literature search of PUBMED™ and bibliography searches identified articles relevant to mucositis measurement tools and the measurement of mucositis in paediatrics. Results The relevant issues in the literature could be grouped into three categories: (1) development and evaluation of oral assessment tools, (2) oral assessment in the paediatric population, and (3) challenges to the assessment of oral mucositis in children. There were numerous validated mucositis assessment scales for use in adults. Only three of these scales have received limited evaluation for use in the paediatric population. The unique challenges presented by the paediatric population are excluded from much of the discussion in the literature. Conclusion The paper demonstrates the need to consider the issues specific to children. It must be determined whether previously developed tools are ideally suited for children enrolled on mucositis clinical trials.