Oral hygene of the patient admitted in an intensive care unit: integrative review

Abstract

The oral health prevention and promotion for patients admitted to an intensive care unit is the nursing team’s responsibility. An integrative review that aimed to identify the contributions of studies conducted by nurses about the oral care of patients admitted to these units. We selected 17 articles published during 2010 to 2016, indexed in the State National Library of Medicine (PubMed/MEDLINE) and Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde (BVS). We categorized the studies according to interventions for the dental biofilm control. Brushing was pointed as the best practice for the mechanical control and the 0.12% chlorhexidine gluconate for chemical control. The mechanical and chemical interventions combined were more effective for the prevention of respiratory infections. Comparative clinical studies should be conducted by nurses who work in the clinical practice, so they can trace effective measures for oral care.