Acceptance and perceived efficacy of intraoral versus extraoral photobiomodulation for oral mucositis prevention in pediatric patients

Abstract

Abstract Objective To compare acceptance, tolerability, and perceived efficacy of extraoral (EO) and intraoral (IO) photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) for oral mucositis (OM) prevention in pediatric oncology patients. Methods Caregivers of 32 pediatric patients undergoing chemotherapy completed a structured questionnaire after their children experienced both intraoral and extraoral PBMT for oral mucositis prevention during different chemotherapy cycles within a randomized clinical study. Device preference, discomfort, perceived pain control, and reasons for preference were descriptively analyzed. Results EO-PBMT was preferred by 65.6% of respondents, whereas 34.4% preferred IO-PBMT. Preference for EO-PBMT was mainly associated with greater comfort and avoidance of mouth opening. Discomfort was reported by 43.8% during IO-PBM and by 6.3% during EO-PBMT, with a statistically significant difference between the modalities ( p = 0.001). IO-PBMT was more often perceived to provide better pain control (34.4%), whereas 12.5% favored EO-PBMT. Conclusion EO-PBMT demonstrated greater caregiver acceptance and lower treatment-related discomfort than IO-PBMT. Although caregivers more frequently perceived IO-PBMT as providing better pain control, these subjective perceptions did not correspond to differences in the clinical occurrence or severity of OM between treatment modalities. EO-PBMT therefore represents a feasible and well-accepted approach for supportive care in pediatric oncology.