2020 Volume 41 Issue 4 Pages 375-381
Elderly people requiring nursing care may develop a fever and suffer pneumonia due to increased aspiration volume, dehydration, and decreased immune function；it is important to prevent fever in the elderly requiring care. This study aimed to determine the relationship between fever and the patient’s background and oral findings in elderly people requiring nursing care with tube feeding. The subjects were 16 elderly patients requiring nursing care who were tube-fed and who had not been ingesting anything at all. The age, disease, nutrition intake, bedridden degree, fever within the past 6 months, consciousness level （Japan Coma Scale）, and ability to communicate were confirmed from hospitalization records. Patients with a fever and body temperature of above 37.5℃ were evaluated. Membranous substances on the palate collected from the palate mucosa were confirmed pathologically to have an epithelial component present. The simple correlation with fever was analyzed by Fisher’s exact calculation, Chi-square test, or Student’s t-test.
There were no statistically significant differences between age, sex, bedridden level, level of consciousness, communication ability, disease, residual teeth, carious teeth, CPI, and fever. There was a significant difference between the presence of membranous substances on the palate and fever. The ratio of elderly people who had a fever was substantially higher for those with membranous substances. The oral cavity and respiratory tract with membranous substances present tended to be dry. Dry mouth and dry respiratory tract cause local immunological weaknesses and have specific bacteria, which are suspected to cause fever. To prevent fever in elderly people requiring nursing care with tube feeding, it is suggested that oral care and moisturizing mucosal care are important.
