Improving teeth cleaning cuts hospital pneumonia risk by 60%, study finds

urbazon/Getty Images

By Olivia Bowthorpe

A simple oral care intervention for hospital patients not on a ventilator can cut cases of pneumonia by 60%, according to a large Australian study.

In a trial of 8,870 patients at three hospitals in Australia, participants were given a toothbrush, toothpaste and information about oral hygiene plus online resources.

Nine wards took part with one starting the improved oral hygiene programme every three months. Hospital staff were also given training and support on regular oral care.

It led to a marked increase in the proportion of patients who had oral care, from around 16% of patients to about 62%.

On average, patients received oral care around 1.5 times a day, the researchers found.

This was linked to a significant reduction in non-ventilator-associated hospital-acquired pneumonia (NV-HAP) from about one case per 100 patient-days at risk to about 0.4 cases, an overall reduction of approximately 60%.

NV-HAP tends to lead to a higher mortality risk, longer hospital stays, and higher costs, the researchers told delegates at the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Global conference