This retrospective observational study will compare laser therapy and ozone therapy for the management of oral mucositis in adults with head and neck cancer. Oral mucositis is a painful inflammation of the mouth that may develop during radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or concurrent chemoradiotherapy and can cause redness, ulceration, difficulty eating or swallowing, and reduced quality of life.
The study will review existing clinical records of patients who previously received either laser therapy or ozone therapy as part of routine clinical care. Patients were not assigned to treatment by the study protocol, and no additional treatment or study procedures will be performed.
The main outcome will be the change in oral mucositis severity measured using the World Health Organization oral mucositis scale. Secondary outcomes will include changes in oral pain measured using a visual analogue scale and changes in oral mucositis-related quality of life, when questionnaire data are available.
The aim is to determine whether the clinical course of oral mucositis differs between patients treated with laser therapy and those treated with ozone therapy.