Oral hygiene care and the management of oral symptoms of the cancer patients in palliative care: a systematic review protocol

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this review is to examine the effectiveness of oral hygiene care in the management of oral symptoms of cancer patients under specialist palliative care and the patients’ experience of such symptoms and care. Introduction: Oral symptoms, such as xerostomia, mouth pain or dysgeusia, are highly prevalent in specialist palliative care cancer patients and have a negative effect on their quality of life. Oral hygiene care can manage oral symptoms and could be improved with a more systematized approach, adequate guidelines, and training to properly integrate oral hygiene care into the care provided in specialist palliative care. Inclusion criteria: This review will consider quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods studies on the effectiveness and experience of oral hygiene care intended to manage oral symptoms of adult cancer patients aged 18 years or older, diagnosed with any type of cancer, under specialist palliative care. Methods: The search will be conducted in MEDLINE (PubMed), CINAHL (EBSCO), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Dentistry and Oral Sciences Source (EBSCO), and MedicLatina (EBSCO). Sources of unpublished studies and gray literature to be searched will include Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations and Repositórios Científicos de Acesso Aberto de Portugal. Studies in English, Portuguese, and Spanish from 2000 to the present will be considered. Methodological quality will be assessed and data will be extracted. Synthesis and integration will follow the JBI segregated approach for mixed methods reviews. Review registration: PROSPERO CRD42023400554