Clinical Research Directory

Professional Oral Care and Staff Education in Critically Ill Patients

This study evaluated oral health in critically ill patients admitted to two intensive care units in Budapest, Hungary, and examined whether professional oral care and education of intensive care staff could improve oral hygiene. A total of 161 adult patients were included. Dentate patients in the first phase were randomly assigned to receive either professional oral care provided by dentists or standard oral care provided by ICU nursing staff. Total edentulous patients were included in a separate group. After a structured oral care education programme was provided to ICU staff, subsequently enrolled patients were included in a separate post-education group. Oral hygiene and gingival inflammation were assessed repeatedly during the ICU stay.

The Effect of Two Different Oral Care Solutions on the Prevention of Ventilator-associated Pneumonia in the Intensive Care Unit

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a lung parenchymal tissue infection that develops nosocomially 48-72 hours after the start of mechanical ventilation (8, 15, 17, 23, 31). The second most common nosocomial infection in intensive care units in the United States is VAP (20). Approximately 90% of pneumonias developing in intensive care units are seen in patients receiving mechanical ventilation support, while the risk of VAP development is higher in the first days of hospitalization, and has been reported to be 3%/day in the first 5 days, 2%/day on the following six and ten days, and 1%/day on subsequent days (7, 20, 23,37). The concept of the Bundle of Care was first defined by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement in 2005 (21, 25). The Bundle of Care; It is a set of practices that have been beneficial in terms of clinical improvement, each of which includes 3-5 evidence-based, preventive interventions that contribute to the quality of care (5, 21, 25, 26, 30). There are studies in the literature showing that the use of the Care Bundle for the development of VAP reduces the rate of VAP development (5, 30, 34, 29, 28). Evidence-based practices frequently recommended in the literature within the scope of the VAP Care Bundle are; giving the patient a semi-fowler position (sitting at a 30-45 degree angle), evaluating daily extubation, evaluating daily sedation, peptic ulcer prophylaxis unless contraindicated, and deep vein thrombosis prophylaxis (15, 21, 23, 26, 28, 30). Health Care Improvement Institute; recommends washing hands before and after patient contact, removing subglottic secretions, and not changing ventilator circuits earlier than 48 hours (19, 21, 32, 33). In addition to evidence-based practices, the Institute for Health Care Improvement recommends that oral intubation be preferred to nasotracheal intubation, endotracheal tube cuff pressure should be between 20-30 cmH2O, enteral feeding should be initiated within 24-48 hours for hemodynamically stable intensive care patients, oral care should be performed with an antiseptic solution at 2-12 hour intervals, including teeth, cheeks, and tongue, monitoring humidifier filters and irrigation solutions, and aspiration should be performed under appropriate conditions. These interventions are considered evidence-based (1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, 18, 22, 23, 26, 33). The evidence-based Care Bundle Interventions to be implemented by the researcher within the scope of this study are listed below. Interventions to be implemented by the nurse's decision include; Oral care with 0.12% chlorhexidine glucanate or 0.2% chlorhexidine glucanate solution, 4 times a day, at 6-hour intervals, semi-fowler position (sitting at a 30-45 degree angle) unless contraindicated, monitoring the endotracheal tube cuff pressure to be between 20-30 cmH2O, changing ventilator circuits and humidifier filters in case of visible contamination or malfunction, and monitoring the aspiration application. Interventions to be implemented by the physician's decision include; includes daily extubation assessment, peptic ulcer prophylaxis unless contraindicated, deep vein thrombosis prophylaxis unless contraindicated.