2017 Volume 32 Issue 4 Pages 1334-1339
Purpose: Oral care is not targeted for specific bacteria, but it is important that it reduce the absolute number of oral bacteria to be useful for treatment and prevention at patients associated with aspiration pneumonia. We investigated the association between the treatment plan and prognostic value as a reference to evaluate bacterial flora of the mouth and the nutritional state of patients associated with aspiration pneumonia.
Subjects and methods: The investigation included 68 patients associated with aspiration pneumonia who had a mouth care request and were admitted to our hospital from April, 2013 to June, 2016. We evaluated the oral bacteria and nutritional state of the patients at the time of the mouth care intervention using CONUT (controlling nutritional status score).
Results: Fatalities increased significantly when there was a higher rate of detection of Klebsiella.P, Enterobacter, and Corynebacterium when comparing pneumonia improvement subjects and fatalities (p<0.05: χ2test). Regarding the nutritional evaluation by CONUT, a poor nutritional state was detected in 88% of fatalities, and the poor nutritional state was significantly higher in the pneumonia improvement subjects and the fatalities (p<0.01: χ2test). In addition, a poor nutritional state was more frequent in the age group greater than 80 years old (p<0.05: χ2test).
Conclusion: Causation was accepted by the bacterial flora of the mouth of the patients associated with aspiration pneumonia and the nutritional state and prognosis. Continuing oral care is necessary because aspiration-related pneumonia in elderly people having various basal diseases is fatal. We think the bacteriological monitor is important as an objective intraoral evaluation for the state of oral hygiene, for the reference of prognostic values and treatment plans and for recurrence prevention.
