A new analysis of more than 2,700 patients finds that keeping your teeth squeaky clean keeps you from getting pneumonia while in the hospital, and common lung infections linked to daily tooth brushing. was found to be decreasing.
Selina Ehrenzeller and Michael Klompas, epidemiologists specializing in infectious diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, say people brush their teeth multiple times each day or use antiseptic mouthwash, cotton swabs, or saline. They pooled data from 15 clinical trials involving mouth rinsing with water.
The logic of good oral hygiene seems pretty clear, but keeping your pearly whites clean can be a stopgap bacteria or other pathogens It can sneak down the throat and cause lung infections such as pneumonia – so far the evidence is a bit contradictory, especially for hospitalized patients who can’t brush their own teeth.
To try to answer this question, Ehrenzeller and Klompas analyzed data from 2,786 patients who took part in one of 15 clinical trials and randomized them to brush their teeth at least twice a day. found a lower incidence of nosocomial pneumonia in patients assigned to
Nosocomial pneumonia is a common but deadly lung infection that can worsen symptoms in patients who are already sick. According to studies conducted around the world, its incidence is: 1/50 to 1/200 hospitalization.
Hospitalized critically ill patients may be particularly vulnerable to infections and find themselves in an environment full of super-drug-resistant bacteria. After all, 5 percent and 10 percent of hospitalized patients. If you contract any infectious disease during your stay.
Hospitals are making every effort to stop the spread of pathogens. However, incorporating tooth brushing into the care of ventilated patients and encouraging others to do the same is a low-cost way to improve oral health and reduce pneumonia cases. Research suggests that it may be a method.
Although oral care is often provided to patients in the form of disinfectants, the microbiota may persist, perhaps thanks to its ability to hide in biofilms. Physically destroying these structures remains the best way to control microbial populations.
“In the world of hospital preventive medicine, it’s rare to find something this effective and inexpensive.” To tell Klompus. “Our research shows that instead of new devices or drugs, something as simple as brushing your teeth can make a big difference.”
Tooth brushing significantly reduced pneumonia rates in patients receiving respiratory support, which coincidentally accounted for the majority of the numbers in the studies analyzed. This reduction equates to one pneumonia case prevented for every 12 patients on a ventilator and having their teeth brushed.
For patients in intensive care, daily tooth brushing also led to shorter hospital stays and fewer days on a ventilator. However, brushing your teeth more than three times a day is even less effective than brushing your teeth twice a day.
“Our findings highlight the importance of practicing good oral hygiene habits, including tooth brushing, for hospitalized patients, especially those on ventilators who require assistance from nursing staff. .” To tell Klompus.
Rupak Dutta, a hospital epidemiologist at Yale School of Medicine who was not involved in the study, said: To tell The analysis presents “compelling data” that “reinforces the idea that regular tooth brushing is an essential component of the standard of care for patients on ventilators.”
However, no significant effect was seen in hospitalized patients not receiving mechanical ventilation. This may be because only two of the 15 studies included in the analysis included non-ventilated patients, and the benefit of tooth brushing in reducing pneumonia in that group remains uncertain.
It is important to prevent these cases of non-ventilated nosocomial pneumonia as well. Occurs in 1 in 200 hospitalizationsa large study of 284 U.S. hospitals published earlier this year found that among patients not on ventilators, one in five died in the hospital.
This study JAMA Internal Medicine.
