Effects of Mouth-opening Training on the Maximum Interincisal Opening

Effects of Mouth-opening Training With Follow-up Telephone Calls on the Maximum Interincisal Opening and Mandibular Function of Postoperative Oral Cancer Patients: A Randomized Clinical Trial

PURPOSE:The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of mouth-opening training with follow-up telephone calls for reducing postoperative trismus in patients with oral cancer.

METHODS:The study is a randomized clinical trial using repeated measures. Sixty-eight patients admitted at a general hospital in Taiwan for oral cancer surgery were recruited and randomly assigned to either the intervention or control group. All subjects were instructed to practice mouth-opening exercises three times a day every day for three months. Subjects in the intervention group received additional 6 follow-up phone calls to enhance mouth-opening exercise adherence. Data on maximum interincisal opening and mandibular function impairment were collected before surgery, at one-month, and three-months after discharge, using the TheraBite Range-of-Motion scale and Mandibular Function Impairment Questionnaire.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Oral Cancer
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: The mouth-opening training with follow-up telephone calls program; Behavioral: The mouth-opening training without follow-up telephone calls program

Detailed Description

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of mouth-opening exercise training with follow-up telephone calls for preventing postoperative trismus in patients with oral cancer. The specific aims were to test the intervention effects on enhancing mouth-opening exercise practice, MIO, and mandibular function. We hypothesized that the intervention group would show 1) better adherence to mouth-opening exercises, 2) greater MIO, and 3) better mandibular function over time, compared to the control group.

The study is a randomized clinical trial using repeated measures. A convenience sample of 68 oral cancer patients was recruited and randomly assigned to either the intervention or control group according to a list generated by the Random Allocation Software. Subjects in both groups received two 30-minute individual trainings on the mouth-opening exercises before discharge from the hospital. Subjects were instructed to practice the mouth-opening exercises three times a day, every day, for 12 weeks. Subjects in the intervention group received additional 6 follow-up phone calls (at 1, 2, 3, 4, 8 and 12-week after discharge) from the interventionist to enhance mouth-opening exercise adherence. Data on MIO and mandibular function impairment were collected before surgery, at one-month, and three-months after discharge, using the TheraBite Range-of-Motion scale and the Mandibular Function Impairment Questionnaire. The study was approved by the research ethics committee of the hospital where the data were collected.

All statistical analyses were carried out using the SPSS statistical package version 20.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Characteristics of the subjects were summarized by percentages, means, and standard deviations (SDs). Chi-squared tests or Fisher's exact tests and two independent samples t-tests were used to examine group baseline equivalency. Value changes of study outcomes (MIO and mandibular function impairment) and mouth-opening exercises performed from T1, T2, to T3 were expressed in two study groups. A general linear model was used to model these outcomes as a function of main group effect and main time effect. An interaction term (group difference by time) was added into each model to investigate the synergistic effect of the intervention with time. Both the stability analysis and the analysis of repeated relationships were performed by generalized estimation equations (GEE).

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 68
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Taiwan
  • Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 802
    • Yuan's General Hospital

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 16 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. aged 18 years or older
2. diagnosed with oral cancer
3. scheduled for a primary curative oral cancer surgery
4. able to communicate in Mandarin or Taiwanese
5. obtained medical clearance from the patient's attending physician to participate in the study

Exclusion Criteria:

1. diagnosed with lip or tongue cancers which were less relevant to trismus
2. had central incisors extracted during the surgery

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: The intervention group; Subjects in the intervention group received two 30-minute individual trainings on the mouth-opening exercises before discharge from the hospital. Subjects were instructed to practice the mouth-opening exercises three times a day, every day, for 12 weeks. Subjects in the intervention group received additional 6 follow-up phone calls (at 1, 2, 3, 4, 8 and 12-week after discharge) from the interventionist to enhance mouth-opening exercise adherence.	Behavioral: The mouth-opening training with follow-up telephone calls program; Subjects in both groups received two 30-minute individual trainings on the mouth-opening exercises before discharge from the hospital. Subjects were instructed to practice the mouth-opening exercises three times a day, every day, for 12 weeks. Subjects in the intervention group received additional 6 follow-up phone calls (at 1, 2, 3, 4, 8 and 12-week after discharge) from the interventionist to enhance mouth-opening exercise adherence.
Active Comparator: The control group; Subjects in the control group also received two 30-minute individual trainings on the mouth-opening exercises before discharge from the hospital. Subjects were instructed to practice the mouth-opening exercises three times a day, every day, for 12 weeks.	Behavioral: The mouth-opening training without follow-up telephone calls program; Subjects in both groups received two 30-minute individual trainings on the mouth-opening exercises before discharge from the hospital. Subjects were instructed to practice the mouth-opening exercises three times a day, every day, for 12 weeks.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
TheraBite Range-of-Motion Scale	The TheraBite® Range-of-Motion Scale was used to measure the maximum incisal opening (MIO), which is the maximal vertical distance between the edges of the incisors of the maxilla and the mandible. The TheraBite® Range-of-Motion Scale is a disposable paper measuring scale specially designed to measure a subject's mouth and jaw opening. The subject sits in an upright position with his mouth open wide. For measuring the vertical opening, the scale has a possible range of 5 to 70 mm, with the notch is placed on the lower incisor midline. The usual range of MIO is between 40 and 55 mm. Subjects with MIO <35 mm are considered to have trismus.	Change from Baseline to 3 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Mandibular Function Impairment Questionnaire (MFIQ)	The MFIQ (Mandibular Function Impairment Questionnaire) was used to measure the extent of patients' mandibular function impairment. The questionnaire consists of 17 items, each of which targets a specific oral function impairment; including difficulties in social activity, speech, taking a large bite, chewing hard food, chewing soft food, work and/or daily activities, drinking, laughing, chewing resistant food, yawning, kissing, and eating different types of food. The subjects were asked to indicate how much difficulty they had with each activity or with eating each type of food using a 5-point Likert scale (0 = no difficulty, 4 = very difficult or impossible without help). The total score of the 17 items divided by 68 provides the scale score, with a possible range of 0 to 1. A higher score indicates greater severity of the mandibular function impairment. A score ≤ 0.3, between 0.3 and 0.6, and >0.6 indicates mild, moderate, and severe mandibular function impairment, respectively.	Change from Baseline to 3 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences
• Collaborators: Yuan's General Hospital

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Wetzels JW, Merkx MA, de Haan AF, Koole R, Speksnijder CM. Maximum mouth opening and trismus in 143 patients treated for oral cancer: a 1-year prospective study. Head Neck. 2014 Dec;36(12):1754-62. doi: 10.1002/hed.23534. Epub 2014 Jan 30.
• Kamstra JI, van Leeuwen M, Roodenburg JLN, Dijkstra PU. Exercise therapy for trismus secondary to head and neck cancer: A systematic review. Head Neck. 2017 Nov;39(11):2352-2362. doi: 10.1002/hed.24859. Epub 2017 Jul 14.
• Chen M, Li P, Lin F. Influence of structured telephone follow-up on patient compliance with rehabilitation after total knee arthroplasty. Patient Prefer Adherence. 2016 Mar 3;10:257-64. doi: 10.2147/PPA.S102156. eCollection 2016.
• Agarwal P, Shiva Kumar HR, Rai KK. Trismus in oral cancer patients undergoing surgery and radiotherapy. J Oral Biol Craniofac Res. 2016 Nov;6(Suppl 1):S9-S13. doi: 10.1016/j.jobcr.2016.10.004. Epub 2016 Oct 22.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): June 18, 2012
• Primary Completion (Actual): March 31, 2014
• Study Completion (Actual): March 31, 2014

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 13, 2019
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 13, 2019
• First Posted (Actual): March 14, 2019

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 27, 2021
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 26, 2021
• Last Verified: April 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Oral cancer; Trismus; Mouth-opening training; Jaw exercise
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Neoplasms; Neoplasms by Site; Head and Neck Neoplasms; Stomatognathic Diseases; Mouth Diseases; Mouth Neoplasms
• Other Study ID Numbers: 20110818B

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: No

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No