The Comparison of Chlorhexidine Solution and Swab With Toothbrush and Toothpaste Effect on Preventing Oral Lesions in Hospitalized Patients in Intensive Care Unit

BACKGROUND: Maintaining of oral hygiene has been known as one of the basic tasks of nurses working at intensive care unit. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of chlorhexidine solution with toothbrush in prevention of oral lesions or ulcers in the different parts of the mouth.

METHODS: In this clinical trial study, research Society included patients hospitalized with endotracheal tube since the arrival time in intensive care unit. In this study, 30 patients were selected with target-based approach and equally divided into two groups through the permutation blocking method for oral care toothbrush and toothpaste and using chlorhexidine and swab. The modified form of Beck Oral Assessment Scale (BOAS) and MPS were used to obtain needed information. Data were analyzed by means of R software (version 3.0.2) and also multiple logistic regressions in the confidence level of 95%.

RESULTS: This study indicated an association between using toothbrush and the oral health level (OR: 1.52). In different parts of the mouth, there was no difference between two groups in prevention of lesions in gums, lips and tongue while, this was significant in relation to plaque, mucus and teeth with an odd ratio of 3.94 for teeth and 2.75 for mucus . In comparison, there was an association between implying chlorhexidine and saliva health level. (OR: 2.046).

CONCLUSION: This survey showed that using toothbrush has a noticeable impact on declining oral lesions in varied parts of the mouth.