Oral Health Status, Health Behaviour and Treatment Needs of Patients Undergoing Cardiovascular Surgery

Oral hygiene prior to cardiac surgery to prevent infections: Randomized clinical trial

CONTEXT

It is not clear if an oral hygiene protocol to control biofilm applied before cardiac surgery can reduce infection rates.

OBJECTIVE

We aim to verify the effectiveness of an oral hygiene protocol in reducing postoperative infections when compared to usual practices, in patients admitted to a cardiology unit, prior to cardiac surgery.

DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

Randomized, blind, controlled clinical trial, with 107 participants who expected to undergo cardiac surgery, randomized into two groups: Experimental Group (EG) standardized oral hygiene protocol (54) and Control Group (CG), usual practices performed in patients admitted (53).

INTERVENTION

a standardized oral hygiene protocol, 1 day before surgery: professional prophylaxis with a portable ultrasound device, tooth brushing and flossing plus a 0.12% chlorhexidine gluconate solution (0.12% CHX) mouth rinsing. When applicable, removable prostheses cleaning.

PRIMARY OUTCOME

the presence of infection.

RESULTS

The occurrence of postoperative infection was higher in CG = 7 (13.2%) than in EG = 5 (9.3%); but no statistical difference was found between protocols (p = 0.518). The length of stayed from surgery to discharge presented a statistical difference (p = 0.047; RR = 4.9; CI = 1.01-24.33); the percentage of postoperative infection was almost five times higher in those participants who stayed 11 or more days.

CONCLUSION

The standardized oral hygiene protocol with mechanical and chemical cleaning, 1 day before cardiac surgery, was not more effective than the usual practices performed regarding the reduction of postoperative infections. Other interventions regarding oral hygiene procedures before cardiac surgery must be studied to contribute to the reduction of adverse post-surgical events.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION

Site Ensaclinicos.gov.br number U1111-1214-2862.

DESCRIPTORS

Healthcare Associated Infections, Cardiovascular Diseases, Periodontal Diseases, Dental Biofilm, Cardiovascular Surgery.

Analysis of referrals to the stomatology service in a Southern Brazilian hospital: a retrospective study

This paper intends to describe the demand for referrals to the stomatology service requested by the medical teams for inpatients in a reference hospital in the south of Brazil. This research is a retrospective cross-sectional descriptive study focusing on data collection and assessment of information about referrals to the stomatology unit carried out from January 2008 to December 2018. All information was obtained from the hospital management software database, then transferred and analyzed individually for descriptive statistics. A total of 4433 cases were referred to the stomatology team, with an average of 403 cases by year. Hematology/hemato-oncology (37.3%) was the specialty asking for the majority of the referrals, followed by Oncology (20.4%) and Pneumology (8.2%). The mean patients' profile was males (55.5%), receiving a diagnosis of oral mucositis (43.5%), and with the first and second decades of life being the most prevalent ones (34.9%), with a mean age of 34.8±22.3 years. The most common treatment performed by the stomatology team was the photobiomodulation therapy (44.8%). This retrospective study demonstrated the important profile of the stomatological care in hospitalized patients from a specific hospital, especially referred by the hematology/hemato-oncology team. These results evidenced the importance of the stomatology specialty in the hospital environment.

Oral health and dental behaviour of patients with left ventricular assist device: a cross-sectional study

Aims

The aim of this cross‐sectional study was the assessment of dental behaviour, oral health, as well as oral health‐related quality of life of patients with left ventricular assist device (LVAD).

Methods and results

Patients (128) with LVAD were recruited from the University Department for Cardiac Surgery at Heart Center, Leipzig, Germany. A healthy control group (HC, n = 113) was included. Dental behaviour was assessed with a standardized questionnaire, and to evaluate oral health‐related quality of life, the German short form of oral health impact profile was applied. The presence of decayed, missing, and filled teeth; dental treatment need; periodontitis severity; and periodontal treatment need were assessed. These findings were correlated to disease‐related and device‐related factors. The minority of patients used aids for interdental hygiene (16.4%). For the LVAD patients, a German short form of oral health impact profile sum score of 4.96 ± 8.67 [0.5; 0–6] was assessed. The LVAD group suffered from more missing teeth (11.91 ± 9.13 vs. 3.70 ± 3.77; P < 0.01) than HC. More severe periodontitis was found in LVAD group (LVAD = 41.4% and HC = 27.4%; P < 0.01). Periodontal treatment need was high in both groups, without a significant difference (LVAD = 84.4% vs. HC = 86.7%; P = 0.71). LVAD therapy as bridge to transplantation was correlated with periodontal treatment need (odds ratio = 11.48 [1.27; 103.86]; P = 0.03). Further correlations between treatment need and disease specific factors were not detected.

Conclusions

Patients with LVAD suffer from a high periodontal treatment need and a lack in oral behaviour. Interdisciplinary special care concepts appear recommendable to improve oral health in LVAD patients.