Schweizer Monatsschrift für Zahnmedizin = Revue mensuelle suisse d'odonto-stomatologie = Rivista mensile svizzera di odontologia e stomatologia / SSO
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Schweiz Monatsschr Zahnmed · Jan 2013
Survey on oral hygiene measures for intubated patients in Swiss intensive care units.
Five to ten percent of all hospitalized patients are treated in intensive care units. The risk of nosocomial infections is inherent in the latter, especially in cases of intubation. In this context, impaired oral hygiene may play a pivotal role. ⋯ In summary, oral prophylaxis was neither standardized nor consistently implemented in the evaluated Swiss intensive care units of the responding hospitals. Only a small proportion had protocols available for preventing VAP, which is in accordance with similar surveys conducted in the US and Europe. Additional and improved measures have to be determined to confirm or optimize prophylactic oral strategies and to create standards and guidelines for this at-risk patient collective.