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BACKGROUND
Oral Mucositis is a common and often severe side effect of radiotherapy in head and neck cancer (HNC) patients. It is a painful inflammatory and ulcerative condition of the mouth, leading to difficulty eating, drinking, and swallowing. Many patients require expensive analgesics, nasogastric tube insertion or PEG or RIG feeding, requiring some time in the hospital.
OBJECTIVE
Evaluate the Cost-effectiveness of Photobiomodulation (PBM) for treating and preventing Oral Mucositis in head and neck cancer patients.
METHODS
A comprehensive search was conducted on PubMed using the terms (Photobiomodulation OR Low-Level Laser OR LLLT OR Cold Laser OR Laser Biostimulation) AND (Cost-effectiveness OR Cost Benefit OR Economic). Additionally, hand-searching references and exploring other internet sources were employed to identify cost-effectiveness studies on Photobiomodulation for treating and preventing Oral Mucositis in head and neck cancer patients. This process yielded 13 papers. However, eight of these were excluded for not meeting the inclusion criteria, leaving a total of five papers for in-depth review. The evaluation focused on the cost per patient, taking into account the expenses associated with the PBM device, its administration, consumables, analgesics, nutritional support, and hospitalization.
RESULTS
In all but one study, PBM was found to decrease the incidence and severity of Oral Mucositis, along with associated costs for consumables, analgesics, nutritional support, and hospitalization. However, the expense related to the PBM device and its administration typically outweighed these savings. The exception was one study where patient self-administration using an LED Lollipop device resulted in a cost saving of $3,850 per patient.
CONCLUSION
Photobiomodulation (PBM) was found to decrease the incidence and severity of Oral Mucositis, along with associated costs. However, the expense related to the PBM device and its administration typically outweighed these savings. One exception was a study where patients self-administered using an LED Lollipop device, resulting in a cost saving of $3,850 per patient.
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