'Brushing teeth can prevent pneumonia'

Israeli study finds regular brushing can significantly reduce risk of infection.

By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
brushing teeth 88 (photo credit: )
brushing teeth 88
(photo credit: )
If nurses in an intensive care unit brush the teeth of ventilated patients three times a day, they can significantly reduce their risk of developing ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) - a nosocomial (hospital-related) infection that can kill. A pioneering Israeli study on the subject - carried out by nurses at Hadassah-University Medical Centers, Sheba Medical Center, the Rabin Medical Center-Beilinson Campus, Kaplan Medical Center and Soroka University Medical Center - will soon be published in The Journal of Nursing Scholarship. A researcher who was involved (and who could not be named) said that when it was presented to the Health Ministry's Nursing Administration, "no interest in nationally implementing our findings was expressed." But when asked for comment, Dr. Chezy Levy, deputy director-general and head of the ministry's medical division, told The Jerusalem Post he was eager to see and study the findings and, if they were serious, initiate a discussion to determine whether this should be official ministry policy for all hospital intensive-care units. Julie Benbenishty, an intensive-care unit nurse at Hadassah-University Medical Center in Jerusalem's Ein Kerem neighborhood who has been brushing the teeth of ventilated patients for a few years even though it was not ministry policy, said she was convinced that it significantly reduced the 20 percent to 25% prevalence of VAP in ventilated patients. The mouth, teeth and oral cavity of the healthy mouth have a permanent colony of many types of bacteria that do not cause major harm, she said. But mechanical ventilation of unstable patients, including the unconscious, is the main reason for a nosocomial disease like VAP. Other ways to reduce the risk of VAP include using a mechanical device to suck secretions out of the mouth and throat, placing patients in a semi-sitting position and changing it every two hours, and maintaining optimal blood sugar levels.