There are some very important ways in which you can prevent pneumonia during hospital stays. Check out the latest reports about this below.
Preventing pneumonia during hospital stays
New research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Internal Medicine suggests that preventing pneumonia during hospital stays can be as straightforward as brushing a patient’s teeth.
A team of researchers led by Drs. Selina Ehrenzeller and Michael Klompas of Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Massachusetts reviewed 15 randomized clinical trials of oral care regimens during hospital stays.
The trials were conducted between 2009 and 2022 worldwide and included 2,786 patients from eight different countries, namely Iran, Brazil, India, Spain, China, the United States, Malaysia, and Taiwan.
In most studies, patients had their teeth brushed with chlorhexidine gluconate (11 studies) or a simple plaque-removing toothpaste two or three times a day, between four and five times a week.
The patients had their teeth brushed either by dental professionals or nondental nursing staff.
According to the research, patients who had their teeth brushed daily had lower rates of hospital-acquired pneumonia, especially among those who were on invasive mechanical ventilators. These patients also spent less time on a ventilator, had shorter ICU stays, and a lower ICU mortality rate.
“These findings suggest that daily toothbrushing may be associated with lower rates of pneumonia and ICU mortality,” the researchers wrote. “Programs and policies to encourage daily toothbrushing are warranted.”
However, toothbrushing did not reduce the length of hospital stay overall, the research team found.
Pneumonia is linked to oral health
Hospital-acquired pneumonia is the most common and deadliest infection associated with hospital stays, according to researchers. Hospital-acquired pneumonia constitutes most health care-associated pneumonia cases, with a mortality rate ranging from 15 percent to 30 percent, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Hospital-acquired pneumonia is an infection in the lungs that is associated with symptoms such as confusion or mental changes, coughing up sputum, fever and chills, general discomfort, loss of appetite, and sharp chest pain. A diagnosis of hospital-acquired pneumonia is made if these symptoms occur at least 48 hours after hospital admission.
This illness can be transmitted by visitors or healthcare workers who can spread germs from their hands or clothes.
The researchers highlight that it occurs more frequently among those on ventilators. Patients on ventilators inhale a “highly diverse ecosystem with an estimated 700 species of bacteria, fungi, viruses, and protozoa,” according to Dr. Rupak Datta, who wrote a commentary on the study.
“Extensive data from epidemiological, microbiological, and molecular studies have established a link between the oral microbiome, oral health, dental plaques, and periodontal disease and the development of pneumonia,” wrote Dr. Datta.
The notes stated the fact that dental plaque forms within hours of brushing the teeth, according to the CDC, and will proliferate if not removed by brushing. The plaque contains pathogenic bacteria that can result in hospital-acquired pneumonia if not removed.
