The Oral Mucositis Index (OMI) was developed to measure acute oral mucosal changes following bone marrow transplantation. It can be used to monitor the oral complications associated with cancer therapy and can help identify patients needing more aggressive intervention. The authors are from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.
Measures:
(1) atrophy (11 items)
(2) pseudomembrane (11 items)
(3) erythema (10 items)
(4) edema (2 items)
Atrophy sites:
(1) upper lip
(2) lower lip
(3) upper labial mucosa
(4) lower labial mucosa
(5) right buccal mucosa
(6) left buccal mucosa
(7) dorsal tongue
(8) lateral tongue
(9) ventral tongue
(10) floor of mouth
(11) soft palate
Pseudomembrane sites:
(1) upper lip
(2) lower lip
(3) upper labial mucosa
(4) lower labial mucosa
(5) right buccal mucosa
(6) left buccal mucosa
(7) dorsal tongue
(8) lateral tongue
(9) ventral tongue
(10) floor of mouth
(11) soft palate
Erythema sites:
(1) upper lip
(2) lower lip
(3) upper labial mucosa
(4) lower labial mucosa
(5) right buccal mucosa
(6) left buccal mucosa
(7) dorsal tongue
(8) lateral tongue
(9) ventral tongue
(10) floor of mouth
Edema sites:
(1) right buccal mucosa
(2) left buccal mucosa
Degree of Change |
Points |
none |
0 |
mild |
1 |
moderate |
2 |
severe |
3 |
where:
• Pseudomembranes may be scored: 0 if none, 1 if > 0 and <= 1 square cm; 2 if > 1 and <= 2 square cm; 3 if > 2 square cm.
oral mucositis index =
= SUM(points for all 34 items)
Interpretation:
• minimum index: 0
• maximum index: 102
• The higher the index, the more severe the oral mucositis.
• The maximum value in the study population was 65.
Performance measures:
• Cronbach alpha: 0.898 - 0.938
• Guttman split-half coefficient: 0.844 – 0.933
Specialty: Hematology Oncology, Otolaryngology