The 20 item oral mucositis index: reliability and validity in bone marrow and stem cell transplant patients

Precise quantification of oral complications in cancer patients receiving bone marrow and stem cell transplantation is essential when testing new treatment strategies for mucositis. Using 133 adult transplant patients, the authors evaluated the 20 item oral mucositis index (OMI), adapted from the 34 item OMI, to facilitate use by nondental health professionals. The OMI-20 consists of nine items measuring erythema, nine measuring ulceration, one measuring atrophy, and one measuring edema; all are scored from 0 = none to 3 = severe and summed for a total possible score of 0-60. The two sets of nine items measuring erythema and ulceration can also be summed separately to produce subscale scores ranging from 0 to 27. Results demonstrated internal consistency, test-retest, and inter-rater reliability, and strong evidence of construct validity. Provided that clinical examiners have appropriate training and experience, the OMI-20 can be used as a reliable, valid, and quantifiable measure of mucositis in clinical research.