NURSES OPINIONS AND PRACTICE IN MOUTH CARE FOR ICU PATIENTS UNDER MECHANICAL VENTILATION

despite evidences on association between ventilator associated pneumonia and
inadequate mouth care of mechanically ventilated patients, no studies are available on the performance
of Iranian nurses in this area. This study was designed to compare the perceptions of nurses about ICU
mechanically ventilated patients' mouth care and their actual practices.
Material and Methods: this cross-sectional study was conducted on 90 ICU nurses in different
hospitals in Kashan, Isfahan and Najaf-Abad. A questionnaire including demographic information,
frequency of oral assessment and oral care, use of checklist, priority of oral care, routine materials and
equipments for oral care, and barriers to oral care in ICU was used. Nursing reports of 45 patients,
concerning care records were evaluated. Collected data were analyzed using SPSS software.
Results: oral Care obtained the seventh rank and a mean score of 5.7 on a scale of 10. Only 29% of
participants had been trained in this field. The oral cares were ignored by 20% of participants in their
usual duties. Suctioning was the most common method used in 83.3% of cases. High load of writing
tasks and personnel shortages were the major barriers to oral care. Only 20% of the charts included a
report on oral care of mechanically ventilated patients.
Conclusion: the nursing personnel gave a low priority to the oral care of mechanically ventilated
patients. Results showed the lack of nursing knowledge in this area therefore re-training programs in
the field of oral care are recommended and the supervision should be strengthened.