Pneumonia and the role of dentistry on ICU Staff

Abstract

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is one ofthe most prevalent healthcare-associated infections (HAI) andcauses of death in intensive care units (ICUs), and studies haveshown its relation to oral health. Aim: To report the impact ofthe incorporation of dental professionals into multidisciplinaryICU staff on the incidence of VAP. Methods: A retrospectiveobservational study was carried out to collect and analyzehealth indicators of patients in the ICUs from 2011 to 2018 andto differentiate these indicators between the periods beforeand after the participation of dental staff in the ICU. This studywas approved by the Research Ethics Committee. Results:The average number of monthly ICU admissions was 105.89 ±169.72, and the discharge was 105.21 ± 168.96, with a monthlyaverage number of deaths within 24 h of 38.61 ± 62.27. Theaverage number of monthly HAI-related deaths decreasedfrom 2011 to 2018, followed by a reduction in cases of HAIper month. The average monthly number of HAIs relatedto mechanical ventilation (MV) decreased, and the samewas observed for the infection density of HAIs related to MV(p < 0.001). In multivariate analysis, there was a significantdecrease in the number of HAIs related to MV (p = 0.005).Conclusion: Although a reduction in the number of admissionsor complexity of cases was not observed in the study period,multidisciplinary staff practices were essential for controllingHAIs and the presence of dental professionals can assist in thecontrol of HAIs related to MV.

Avaliação da condição bucal de pacientes em ventilação mecânica internados em Unidade de Terapia Intensiva

“…Sabe-se que os cuidados bucais, quando realizados adequadamente, reduzem significativamente o aparecimento de pneumonia associada ao uso de ventilação artificial, nos pacientes em UTI (Cruz et al, 2014;Bezerra et al, 2020). Neste estudo visualizamos que, 7,50% dos pacientes apresentaram condição odontológica ruim e que toda essa quantificação está diretamente relacionada com o uso do tubo oro traqueal (82,50%).…”

O odontologista frente a prevenção da Pneumonia Associada a Ventilação Mecânica (PAVM) na Unidade de Terapia Intensiva (UTI)

“…Sabe-se que são diversos os desafios enfrentados pelo odontologista na prevenção da PAVM em uma UTI, e que seu papel é imprescindível nesse quesito. De acordo com Bezerra et al, (2020), dentre as contribuições do odontologista em uma UTI, a mais importante é as prevenções da PAVM, tendo em vista que esta representa 25% de todas as infecções dentro de uma UTI.…”