Re-Appraisal For The Protective Effect Of Oral Hygiene On Pulmonary Infection In Elderly People

Background: Regular oral care with antiseptics is recommended for patients receiving a ventilator bundle care in intensive care units. It is not clear whether routine oral care with antiseptics be implemented as a daily practice in the elderly. The aim of this study was to re-evaluate the protective effect of routine oral care with antiseptics in the elderly.Method: We selected publications (from inception until July 2018) with studies comparing oral antiseptic use for protective effect of pulmonary infections in the elderly.Result: Six studies out of 42 unique citations, which included 2,345 participants, met our inclusion criteria from inception untill July 2018. The overall odds ratio (OR) of pulmonary infections between the treated group and the control group was 0.586 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.341-1.007). The OR of all-cause mortality rate between the treated group and the control group was 0.774 (95% CI: 0.443-1.352). With respect to pulmonary infection, the subgroup analysis showed a favorable OR for professional personnel performing oral care in the treated group (OR, 0.435; 95% CI: 0.233-0.811) and the elderly population in nursing homes (OR, 0.376; 95% CI: 0.204-0.696).Conclusion: Our findings failed to show a benefit of routine oral care with antiseptics for preventing pulmonary infection in the elderly. Further studies are urgently needed to assess the effect of routine oral care with antiseptics on preventing pulmonary infection in the elderly. Copyright (C) 2019, Taiwan Society of Geriatric Emergency & Critical Care Medicine.