[Xerostomia. Improved care using a spray with herbal polysaccharides]

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Radiotherapy
• Oral Medicine

Background:

• Radiotherapy for head and neck cancers frequently causes xerostomia (dry mouth).
• Xerostomia significantly impacts patients' quality of life, affecting speech, eating, and sleep.
• Effective management of post-radiotherapy xerostomia remains a clinical challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of a topical polysaccharide-containing spray in managing xerostomia.
• To assess the impact of the spray on various xerostomia-related symptoms and patient-reported outcomes.

Main Methods:

• A prospective clinical study involving 83 patients with post-radiotherapy xerostomia.
• Patients used a Saliva natura spray for one week and completed questionnaires on symptom severity and spray usability.
• Questionnaire items covered resting xerostomia, speech, eating, sleep, treatment frequency, taste, and saliva viscosity.

Main Results:

• Patients reported significant improvements across all assessed xerostomia symptoms.
• The spray notably reduced sleeping difficulties and the frequency of xerostomia treatment use.
• The spray was rated as "satisfactory" overall, with its taste receiving a "good" rating.

Conclusions:

• The polysaccharide spray demonstrates potential as a beneficial intervention for xerostomia post-radiotherapy.
• Patients experiencing xerostomia after head and neck radiotherapy may benefit from trial use of this spray.