Study ExaminesTooth Brushing and Oral Care Best Practices for Preventing Pneumonia in ICU Patients A significant body of research demonstrates that the oral microbiome changes dramatically when people are admitted to the hospital, particularly those treated with invasive mechanical ventilation in the intensive care unit (ICU). For the last two decades, this disruption in bacterial homeostasis, called dysbiosis, has been treated with chlorhexidine gluconate rinse applied topically to the patient’s mouth several times a day to control overgrowth of gram-negative oral bacteria and prevent the formation of a biofilm microbial community of pathogenic microorganisms. Topically applying antimicrobial rinse as a pneumonia prophylaxis has been widely adopted. An estimated 70% of ICUs are regularly using this treatment worldwide. Dr. Craig Dale, RN, PhD, is a clinician scientist and an associate professor at the Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing at the University of Toronto and clinical scientist in oral health at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. “Topically applying antimicrobial rinse as a pneumonia prophylaxis has been widely adopted,” says Dr. Craig Dale, an author of a study of the de-adoption of antimicrobial rinses.1 “An estimated 70% of ICUs are regularly using this treatment worldwide. Recently, systematic reviews and metaanalyses have explored evidence regarding 25 Issue 5 | 2023 |
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