The effect of oropharyngeal aspiration before position change on reducing the incidence of ventilator- associated pneumonia.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of oropharyngeal aspiration on ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) incidence just prior to changing patient position. This randomized controlled experimental study was conducted between July 2015 and April 2019 in anesthesiology and reanimation of intensive care unit (ICU). The patients of experimental group underwent oropharyngeal aspiration under surgical aseptic conditions before each position change. Patients of the control group received oropharyngeal aspiration only as needed. The mean age of the patients was 62.87 ± 17.33 years. The mean and median duration of stay in the ICU were 27.28 ± 30.69 and 18.00 days respectively. The mean and median of duration of the mechanical ventilation support were 26.72 ± 30.65 and 18.00 (min 4; max 168) days respectively. Thirty percent of the patients were VAP. The mean duration of VAP development was 7.50 ± 5.07 days. The rate of VAP development was 11.23/1000 mechanical ventilator days. Only 8.3% of the experimental group patients developed VAP; 91.7% of the control group patients developed VAP. The VAP rate in the control group was 16.82/1000 mechanical ventilator days and the VAP rate in the experimental group was 2.41/1000 mechanical ventilator days. Most VAP agents were multidrug resistant. Distribution of isolated microorganisms was as Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Corynebacterium striatum, Staphylococcus aureus, Providencia stuartii, Serratia marcescens, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, and Aspergillus flavus. In our study, it was concluded that oropharyngeal aspiration performed prior to patient position change prevented the development of VAP.

Effect of patient position on endotracheal cuff pressure in mechanically ventilated critically ill patients.

BACKGROUND: Endotracheal tube cuff pressure must be maintained within 20-30mH2O to prevent complications. There is limited literature reporting the impact of nursing care on endotracheal cuff pressure. However, few studies have reported the effect of nursing care on endotracheal cuff pressure. OBJECTIVES: This study was performed to investigate the effects of body position on endotracheal cuff pressure. METHODS: Twenty-five patients receiving mechanical ventilatory therapy were placed in a baseline position (semirecumbent position with the head of the bed elevated at 30° and head in a neutral position) with endotracheal tube cuff was adjusted to 25cmH2O. The patients were moved into 16 different positions: anteflexion of the head; hyperextension of the head; left lateral flexion of the head; right lateral flexion of the head; rotation of the head to the left; rotation of the head to the right; semirecumbent position with 45° elevation of the head of the bed; recumbent position with 10° elevation of the head of the bed; supine position; trendelenburg position 10°; left lateral position at 30°, 45°, and 90°; and right lateral position at 30°, 45°, and 90°. The endotracheal tube cuff pressure was measured and recorded after each position change. RESULTS: Among the 400 endotracheal tube cuff pressure measurements (25 patients×16 positions) 10 (2.5%) were lower than 20cmH2O; 201 (50.3%) were between 20-30cmH2O and 189 (47.3%) were higher than 30cmH2O. Mean endotracheal tube cuff pressure increased from 25 to 32.59±4.08cmH2O after changing the patients' position. Friedman test indicated a statistically significant deviation in the ETCP across the 16 positions (X2: 122.019, p: 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Body positioning during daily nursing care effected the endotracheal tube cuff pressure, suggesting that endotracheal tube cuff pressure should be measured after changing a patient's position and adjusted within the recommended range.