Oral care frequency in patients on mechanical ventilation supporteffect on oral mucous membrane integrity

This study was conducted as a randomized controlled, single-blind, experimental study to evaluate the effect of the most effective oral care frequency on the integrity of the oral mucous membrane in mechanically ventilated patients. Between June 2021 and June 2022, 98 patients hospitalized in the Internal Medicine Intensive Care Unit of Aydın Adnan Menderes University Hospital formed the sample of the study. The patients were determined randomly and divided into three different groups. Oral care was applied to the patients in the first group twice a day, the patients in the second group three times a day, and the patients in the third group four times a day with 0.12% chlorhexidine gluconate. In the collection of data, Descriptive Characteristics Form of the Patients, Patient Follow-up Form, and Oral Evaluation Guide were used. The mean age of the patients participating in the study was 69.62±13.77, and 43.9% of the patients were female, 56.1% were male and 83.7% were primary school graduates. In all three groups, the oral mucosa was found to have moderate dysfunction on the first day and mild dysfunction on the fourth day. In all groups, the difference between the average scores obtained from the oral evaluation scale between all days of the patients who received oral care was found to be statistically significant (p<0.001). According to the frequency of oral care application, the difference between the first, second and third day oral assessment scale mean scores of the patients was not statistically significant, while the difference between the oral assessment scale mean scores between all groups on the fourth day was statistically significant (p:0.032). According to the research findings; It was concluded that the mean scores of the oral assessment scale in patients who received oral care three times a day were significantly lower than the patient groups who received oral care four times a day and twice a day, and that the most effective frequency of oral care in maintaining the integrity of the oral mucous membrane in patients with mechanical ventilation support was three times a day.