Clinical assessment of the oral cavity of patients hospitalized in an intensive care unit of an emergency hospital

OBJECTIVE To describe the oral health status of patients hospitalized in an intensive care unit. METHODS Clinical assessment of the oral cavity was performed in 35 patients at two time-points (up to 48 hours after admission and 72 hours after the first assessment) and recorded in data collection forms. The following data were collected: plaque index, condition of the mucosa, presence or absence of dental prosthesis, number of teeth present, and tongue coating index. RESULTS The prevalence of nosocomial infection was 22% (eight patients), with 50% respiratory tract infections. All patients exhibited oral biofilm, and 20 (57%) showed biofilm visible to the naked eye; tongue coating was present on more than two thirds of the tongue in 24 patients (69%) and was thick in most cases. A significant increase in plaque index (p=0.007) occurred after 72 hours, although the tongue coating index was p<0.001 regarding the area and p=0.5 regarding the thickness. CONCLUSION The plaque and tongue coating indices increased with the length of hospital stay at the intensive care unit.