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BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies
Published in: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 1/2014

Open Access 01-12-2014 | Research article

“Coffee plus Honey” versus “topical steroid” in the treatment of Chemotherapy-induced Oral Mucositis: a randomised controlled trial

Authors: Mohammad Ali Raeessi, Neda Raeessi, Yunes Panahi, Homa Gharaie, Seyyed Masoud Davoudi, Alireza Saadat, Ali Akbar Karimi Zarchi, Fereshteh Raeessi, Seyyed Mostafa Ahmadi, Hamidreza Jalalian

Published in: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies | Issue 1/2014

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Abstract

Background

Oral mucositis is one of the common complications of cancer chemotherapy and about 40% of the patients who take chemotherapy protocols, experience this irritating problem. The purpose of this study was to draw comparison between the therapeutic effects of our treatment modalities (topical steroid, honey, honey plus coffee) in patients suffering from oral mucositis.

Methods

This was a double blinded randomised clinical trial of a total of 75 eligible adult participants which they randomly fell into three treatment groups. For all the participants a syrup-like solution was prepared. Each 600 grams of the product consisted of “20 eight-mg Betamethasone solution ampoules” in the Steroid (S) group, “300 grams of honey plus 20 grams of instant coffee” in the Honey plus Coffee (HC) group, and “300 grams of honey” for the Honey (H) group. The participants were told to sip 10 ml of the prescribed product, and then swallow it every three hours for one week. Severity of lesions was clinically evaluated before the treatment and also one week after the initiation of the intervention. This study adhered to the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki and guidelines of Good Clinical Practice.

Results

This study showed that all three treatment regimens reduce the severity of lesions. The best reduction in severity was achieved in HC group. H group and S group took the second and third places. In other words, honey plus coffee regimen was the most effective modality for the treatment of oral mucositis.

Conclusion

Oral mucositis can be successfully treated by a combination of honey and coffee as an alternative medicine in a short time. Further investigations are warranted in this field.

Trial registration

Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials IRCT: 201104074737N3, (9 May 2011).
Appendix
Available only for authorised users
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Metadata
Title
“Coffee plus Honey” versus “topical steroid” in the treatment of Chemotherapy-induced Oral Mucositis: a randomised controlled trial
Authors
Mohammad Ali Raeessi
Neda Raeessi
Yunes Panahi
Homa Gharaie
Seyyed Masoud Davoudi
Alireza Saadat
Ali Akbar Karimi Zarchi
Fereshteh Raeessi
Seyyed Mostafa Ahmadi
Hamidreza Jalalian
Publication date
01-12-2014
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies / Issue 1/2014
Electronic ISSN: 2662-7671
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6882-14-293

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