Rabia Tariq, Rabiha Manzoor, Zehra Batool, Nuzhat Yasmeen, Syeda Itrat Fatima, Asbah Rahman.
Impact of Zinc Supplementation in prevention of Chemotherapy Induced Oral Mucositis.
Isra Med J Jan ;15(1):3-6.

Objective: To determine the impact of Zinc supplements in prevention of oral mucositis and its consequences in patients receiving chemotherapy. Study Design: Quasi experimental study Place and Duration: Department of Paediatric Oncology, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Islamabad from 1st March, 2023 to 31 July, 2023. Methodology: A total of 60 patients (N) diagnosed of acute lymphoblastic leukemia planned for induction of treatment were included in the study. Patients were randomly divided into two groups of thirty patients each. Group-A received Zinc supplements while group-B received the usual standard of care without any additional supplement. At the end of four weeks of induction therapy, all patients were assessed for presence and severity of oral mucositis. They were also inquired about food intolerance and need for analgesics. Results: Mean age of patients included in the study was 4.723 +- 2.84 yrs. Males were34 (56.6%) and 26 (43.3%) were females. Severity of mucositis (p-Value is 0.017) and food intolerance (p-Value is 0.020) were markedly decreased in the group receiving zinc supplements. Analgesics were required by 21 (70%) patients in the group receiving zinc supplements and by 27 (90%) in the group not receiving zinc supplements. However, p-Value remained non-significant (0.104). Conclusion: Both, severity of oral mucositis and food intolerance are significantly reduced in patients prescribed zinc supplements during the induction phase of chemotherapy. Though, requirement of analgesics was also considerably reduced amongst patients taking zinc supplements, the difference was not statistically significant for this particular variable in our study.

PakMediNet -Pakistan's largest Database of Pakistani Medical Journals - http://www.pakmedinet.com