The association between the practice of oral care and the incidence of hospital-acquired pneumonia in intensive care medicine.

Background: Hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) represents one of the most common nosocomial infections in intensive care units (ICUs), accounting for 25% of all hospital-acquired infections. While oral care is recommended as a preventive measure, the relationship between standardized oral care practices and HAP incidence remains incompletely characterized.

Objective: To evaluate the association between oral care practice compliance and HAP incidence in ICU patients, and to identify specific aspects of oral care delivery that influence outcomes.

Methods: We conducted a prospective mixed-methods observational cohort study from May 2021 across seven ICUs in a tertiary hospital in China. The study utilized a two-phase approach: (1) systematic assessment of oral care implementation through structured observation of nursing staff (n = 58), and (2) prospective evaluation of HAP outcomes in patients (n = 142). Primary outcomes included oral care compliance metrics and HAP incidence. HAP was defined according to standardized clinical criteria and confirmed by two independent physicians.

Results: Among 142 unique patients, 63 (44.37%) received oral care orders. The oral care completion rate was 61.93%, and the qualification rate was 54.13%. In our analysis, HAP (including both ventilator-associated pneumonia [VAP] and non-ventilator hospital-acquired pneumonia [NVHAP]) occurred in 15/63 (23.81%) patients receiving oral care and 22/79 (27.85%) patients without oral care. Multivariate analysis revealed that incomplete oral care (adjusted OR 2.47, [95% CI, 1.15-4.45], P = 0.009), non-qualified care techniques (adjusted OR 3.17, [95% CI, 1.45-6.35], P = 0.002), and inadequate item qualification (adjusted OR 3.33, [95% CI, 1.47-6.55], P = 0.001) were independently associated with increased HAP risk, after adjusting for confounders. Stratified analysis showed similar associations in both VAP and NVHAP subgroups.

Conclusion: Our investigation demonstrated that suboptimal oral care practices were associated with increased HAP risk in ICU patients. Implementation of evidence-based standardized protocols and improved adherence strategies may help reduce HAP incidence.