ALOE VERA: AS A NATURAL MEDICAMENT IN PALLIATIVE CARE PATIENTS

Abstract

Background: Persons of the end of life require special attention to their rapidly failing oral health. Eighty nine percent of those terminally ill with cancer will complain of at least one oral symptom. Oral care is a very important part as a treatment aspect of palliative care department. As we all know during the end stage of life while the patient goes through all kind of radiotherapy, chemotherapy treatment, gradually patients immunity will be compromised. Most common oral problem is candidiasis (thrush) Different treatments have been used in application to symptomatic oral candidiasis, with variable result, perhaps caused by the refractory nature of the disease. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the topical application of aloe vera in oral candidiasis compared with placebo. Methods: A total of 40 patients of Palliative department with Oral candidiasis were randomized in a double blind study to either aloe vera twenty patients or placebo twenty patients, at a dose of four hundred microlitter ml 70 percent concentration three times a day at Palliative care department of S P Medical college Bikaner Rajasthan. A Visual Analog Scale was used for rating mucosal lesions, pain, with the application of a clinical scale for scoring the lesions, the Oral Health Impact Profile fourty nine The patients were evaluated after two and four weeks. Results: Data analysis study groups that had been given aloe vera, by statically analysis, there was a statistically significant difference, mucosal lesion and oral discomfort as graded by visual analogue scale. Conclusion: Within the limitation of this study aloe vera is effective as a topical antifungal agent. The topical application of aloe vera improves the total quality of life score in oral candidiasis patient.