INFLUENCE OF THE BUCCAL APPLICATION SITE OF A BIOADHESIVE SLOW-RELEASE TABLET ON SALIVARY MICONAZOLE CONCENTRATIONS IN IRRADIATED PATIENTS

Cancer patients, irradiated in the neck region, often develop oral can didosis and a substantial decrease in salivary flow after irradiation. As the use of a bioadhesive buccal tablet containing miconazole nitra te has been shown to be effective in the treatment of oral candidosis, the influence of the application site on the buccal levels of miconaz ole nitrate was studied. The t(max), the adhesion time and T->MIC were significantly higher (P < 0.05) when the gingiva was chosen as the ap plication site in comparison with the cheek. The C-max, t(max) and AUC were not significantly different. The gingiva is the application site of choice in irradiated patients even with a decreased salivary flow.