Published in:
01-06-2008 | Letter
Efficacy of oral chlorhexidine in critical care
Authors:
Matt P Wise, Jade M Cole, David W Williams, Mike A Lewis, Paul J Frost
Published in:
Critical Care
|
Issue 3/2008
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Excerpt
In their review of airway hygiene, Jelic and colleagues highlighted that colonization or infection of the upper airway precedes the development of ventilator-associated pneumonia [
1]. Although the effects of chlorhexidine on reducing pneumonia were discussed, there was no mention of the possible contribution of physical plaque removal, in particular tooth brushing, which is often performed either infrequently or inadequately in mechanically ventilated patients [
1]. Such removal is important because in critically ill patients the normal microflora of dental plaque becomes rapidly colonized by potential pathogens, and this biofilm serves as a reservoir for the subsequent development of ventilator-associated pneumonia [
2,
3]. …