Oral Care Reduces Pneumonia in Older Patients in Nursing Homes
Top Cited Papers
Open Access
- 1 March 2002
- journal article
- clinical trial
- Published by Wiley in Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
- Vol. 50 (3) , 430-433
- https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1532-5415.2002.50106.x
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Aspiration of oral secretions and their bacteria is increasingly being recognized as an important factor in pneumonia. We investigated whether oral care lowers the frequency of pneumonia in institutionalized older people.DESIGN: Survey.SETTING: Eleven nursing homes in Japan.PARTICIPANTS: Four hundred seventeen patients randomly assigned to an oral care group or a no oral care group.INTERVENTION: Nurses or caregivers cleaned the patients' teeth by toothbrush after each meal. Swabbing with povidone iodine was additionally used in some cases. Dentists or dental hygienists provided professional care once a week.MEASUREMENTS: Pneumonia, febrile days, death from pneumonia, activities of daily living, and cognitive functions.RESULTS: During follow‐up, pneumonia, febrile days, and death from pneumonia decreased significantly in patients with oral care. Oral care was beneficial in edentate and dentate patients. Activities of daily living and cognitive functions showed a tendency to improve with oral care.CONCLUSION: We suggest that oral care may be useful in preventing pneumonia in older patients in nursing homes. J Am Geriatr Soc 50:430–433, 2002.Keywords
This publication has 12 references indexed in Scilit:
- Interventions to Prevent Pneumonia Among Older AdultsJournal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2001
- Oral care and pneumoniaThe Lancet, 1999
- Associations Between Oral Conditions and Respiratory Disease in a National Sample Survey PopulationAnnals of Periodontology, 1998
- Donepezil Improves Cognition and Global Function in Alzheimer DiseaseA 15-Week, Double-blind, Placebo-Controlled StudyArchives of internal medicine (1960), 1998
- Oral health and history of respiratory tract infection in frail institutionalised eldersGerodontology, 1997
- Relationships Between Periodontal Disease and Bacterial PneumoniaThe Journal of Periodontology, 1996
- The Importance of Oral Health in the Older PatientJournal of the American Geriatrics Society, 1995
- High incidence of silent aspiration in elderly patients with community-acquired pneumonia.American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 1994
- Considerations for Physicians Caring for Older Adults With Periodontal DiseaseClinics in Geriatric Medicine, 1992
- “Mini-mental state”Journal of Psychiatric Research, 1975