Recommendations Summary
ONC: Hematological Malignancies (HCT): Use of Oral Glutamine 2008
Click here to see the explanation of recommendation ratings (Strong, Fair, Weak, Consensus, Insufficient Evidence) and labels (Imperative or Conditional). To see more detail on the evidence from which the following recommendations were drawn, use the hyperlinks in the Supporting Evidence Section below.
-
Recommendation(s)
ONC: HCT: Use of oral glutamine
Use of oral glutamine to decrease incidence or severity of mucositis or to support recovery following hematopoietic cell transplantation for hematologic malignancies is not currently recommended. Glutamine supplementation did not show an effect on the incidence or severity of oral mucositis, diarrhea, oral intake or PN requirements among patients with hematologic malignancies receiving autologous or allogeneic HCT.
Rating: Fair
Imperative
-
Risks/Harms of Implementing This Recommendation
No potential risks or harms are associated with this recommendation.
-
Conditions of Application
No conditions limit the application of this recommendation.
-
Potential Costs Associated with Application
No obvious costs are associated with this recommendation.
-
Recommendation Narrative
- One positive quality RCT (Coghlin Dickson et al, 2000) and one neutral quality RCT (Jebb et al, 1995) found that 16-30 g glutamine per day orally did not result in significant differences in incidence or severity of oral mucositis or diarrhea; oral intake or PN requirements; need for pain medications; incidence of infectious complications; LOS or survival compared to placebo among patients with hematologic malignancies receiving autologous or allogeneic HCT.
- The timing, dosage and method of administration of the oral glutamine and placebo differed for the two studies.
- Further trials are needed.
-
Recommendation Strength Rationale
Based on two RCTs (one positive quality, one negative quality), conclusion statements are Grade III.
