Effect of Cold Oral Gargling on the Oral Discomfort among Patients Receiving Chemotherapy

찬 구강함수액이 항암 화학요법 환자의 구강불편감에 미치는 영향

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of cold oral gargling on oral discomfort among Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patient undergoing chemotherapy. Method: An quasi-experimental, nonequivalent control group design was used. Thirty two patients receiving chemotherapy at G hospital in P city were recruited from August 1, 2002 to October 20, 2002. Sixteen were conveniently allocated into the experimental group and 16 into the control group. Participants in the experimental group used cold oral gargling while their counterparts used room temperature oral gargling. Subjective and objective oral discomforts were measured by the instruments developed by Beck. The SPSS WIN 10.0 program was used to analyze the data with t-test, ${\chi}^2$ -test, and repeated measures ANOVA. Findings: The participants in the experimental group reported less oral discomfort and showed better oral conditions than those in the control group at the post 7th, 14th, and 21st days. Participants in the experimental group reported better oral conditions in taste, tongue, eating, and saliva than those in the control group. Conclusion: The cold oral gargling seemed to be more beneficial than room-temperature oral gargling in reducing oral discomfort for the Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients undergoing chemotherapy.