The effectiveness of an oral health care program for preventing ventilator-associated pneumonia

Abstract

Aims and objectives: To determine the effectiveness of an oral health care program for preventing ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP).

Background: Research has shown a significant correlation between oral bacteria and VAP, indicating that an oral health care program plays a very important role in VAP prevention.

Design and methods: A quasi-experimental study was used and conducted in the intensive care unit in a medical centre. A total of 199 mechanically ventilated patients were enrolled and divided into two groups: the experimental group (n=99) and control group (n=100). The experimental group was cared for using an evidence-based oral health care program, and the control group was cared for using routine nursing care procedures. Each group received the assigned treatment for four consecutive days.

Results: The incidence of VAP in the experimental group (4%, 4/95) was significantly lower than that in the control group (21%, 18/82). The oral assessment guide (OAG) mean score (9.16 ± 2.07) of the experimental group was significantly different (P<0.05) from that of the control group (10.07 ± 1.79). The general estimated equation further showed that there was a significant difference between groups (P<0.01) for the third post-test data and no significant difference for the pre-test or the first and second post-test data between groups, indicating that an increased duration of intervention resulted in significant decreases in the OAG scores in the experimental group compared with the control group.

Conclusions: The evidence-based oral health care program effectively improved oral mucosal health and statistically reduced the incidence of VAP in this study.

Relevance to clinical practice: The study findings may be useful as an empirical reference for health care professionals performing an oral health care program in the future. Additionally, it may serve as a reference for long-term care policies aimed at reducing the ventilation duration, days of hospitalization and mortality rate to enhance patient safety and the quality of medical care.

Keywords: Oral health care program; Prevention; Ventilator-associated pneumonia.