Effects of oral care solutions on mucous membrane integrity and bacterial colonization

AIM: This research was conducted with the aim of determining the influence of three different oral care solutions on oral mucous membrane integrity in critically ill patients. BACKGROUND: Oral care is a basic part of nursing care in intensive care units. DESIGN: A randomized controlled trial was conducted. METHOD: A total of 60 patients (20 patients in each group) comprised the study sample of the research. Patients were randomly allocated to three groups. Patients in groups 1, 2 and 3 were administered mouth care three times a day using 5% sodium bicarbonate, 0·2% chlorhexidine and saline solution, respectively. Data were collected by means of a 'Descriptive characteristics form' and an 'oral assessment tool'. RESULTS: Mean scores of oral assessment tool increased according to days in all groups, however, this increase was found to be statistically insignificant (p > 0·05). Mean scores of the patients in saline solution group were seen to be lower than those of the other groups. When inter-group comparison of days was done, the difference between oral assessment scores was found to be statistically significant (p = 0·000). CONCLUSION: It was found that there was no difference between patient groups receiving saline solution, sodium bicarbonate and 0·2% chlorhexidine for mouth care in terms of oral mucous membrane integrity; oral mucosa of all patients was found to be mildly dysfunctioning. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: It is thought that standardized protocols for oral hygiene developed in the light of the findings of randomized controlled trials may improve the oral health in critically ill patients.