Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Evaluate the effect of a multidrug solution, adopted by a referral hospital for cancer to control and treat chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis in rats. METHODS: Oral mucositis (OM) was induced by 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU), and the animals were treated with saline (n = 8, G1), 0.12% chlorhexidine (n = 8, G2); and multidrug solution (n = 8, G3). The animals were submitted to clinical and histological analysis of the lesion using mucosal fragments. The animals' food consumption during treatment was also evaluated. RESULTS: Clinical improvement (p < 0.05) was observed in the groups treated with the multidrug solution and 0.12% chlorhexidine digluconate. In G2 and G3, there was a prevalence of reepithelialization covering <50% of the lesion. Evaluation of the inflammatory infiltrate indicated that the G1 treatment permitted an intense inflammatory response in all animals, yet this evaluation parameter was moderate in groups G2 and G3. The G3 group (p < 0.05) presented higher food consumption than the other groups. CONCLUSIONS: The multidrug solution improved the clinical and histological parameters of the chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis, as well as promoted an increase in food intake.