Caphosol

Abstract: A valid measure of oral malodor (halitosis) and associated quality of life is required for the complete assessment of treatment effectiveness. The purpose of this study was to analyze the psychometric and clinimetric validity of the Halitosis Associated Life-quality Test (HALT) questionnaire, a specific 20-item quality-of-life measure for halitosis. The HALT is a de novo designed tool based on patient interviews and literature review. The University Hospital was the setting for the prospective random non-controlled study design. The comparison between the evaluator' scales on organoleptic testing and HALT scores was performed during the patient's initial visit. HALT was completed by 33 and 16 patients at the initial visit and at 3 months after treatment commencement, respectively. Two treatment arms comprising an experimental arm including Caphosol rinse for xerostomia-associated halitosis, and an established treatment arm with laser cryptolysis were compared. Cronbach's α was 0.93; coefficient alpha with deleted variables was between 0.92 and 0.94; equal length Spearman-Brown coefficient is 0.95. The Cronbach's alphas of each split questionnaire were 0.85 and 0.88, respectively, and test-retest scores were highly correlated (r = 0.85). HALT scores were significantly associated with the scales of organoleptic test (F = 118, p < 0.001; r = 0.96, p < 0.001). HALT successfully measured each treatment arm and showed improvement (p < 0.002) in both arms. Although cryptolysis was more efficacious, the encouraging results of the Caphosol arm indicate that additional investigation is warranted. HALT proved a valid outcome measure for patients with halitosis, describes its burden and is sensitive to clinical change.

Abstract: Objective Oral mucositis (OM) is an unresolved problem among patients treated with a high-dose therapy supported by hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). We tested the ability of supersaturated calcium phosphate mouth rinse (Caphosol) to ameliorate oral mucosal injury induced by a conditioning regimen. Patients and methods Thirty-two patients with hematologic malignancies were treated with Caphosol to prevent OM during HSCT procedures. The conditioning regimens for 16 patients were BGNU 300 mg/m2, day 6; ARA-C 200 mg/m2 daily, days 5, 4, 3, 2; VP-16 200 mg/m2 daily, days 5, 4, 3, 2; L-PAM 140 mg/m2, day 1 (BEAM) and for 16 patients, MEL 200 (non-Hodgkin's lymphoma). A control group was composed of 24 consecutive patients, who had been treated with HSCT before Caphosol was available. The source of the graft was autologous peripheral blood. Results Among patients treated with Caphosol no one had to receive total parenteral nutrition. Among the BEAM group no one experienced III to IV degree OM compared with 40% of the control group. The median OM duration was 2.25 days versus controls of 8.6, (P Conclusion Caphosol may reduce the incidence, severity, and duration of oral mucositis and decrease the number of days with painkillers among patients treated with a BEAM but not a Mel 200 regimen.

Abstract: In pediatric oncology, chemotherapyor radiotherapy-induced oral mucositis (OM) is accompanied by decreased oral intake, pain, analgesics use, and hospital admission [1, 2]. Moreover, OM is correlated with an increased risk of sepsis [3, 4]. Recently, Caphosol, a supersaturated CaPO4 mouth rinse, became available to prevent or treat mucositis [5]. Papas et al. demonstrated Caphosol to have a beneficial prophylactic effect in adult hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) patients, but evidence in pediatric patients is lacking [6]. We studied whether Caphosol can be used to treat OM in a prospective randomized study.