Effect of poor oral health status at hospital admission on in-hospital outcomes of older patients with aspiration pneumonia.

PURPOSE: To investigate the effects of oral health status at admission on in-hospital outcomes and how it varies during hospitalization in older patients with aspiration pneumonia. METHODS: This prospective cohort study involved patients aged ≥ 65 years who were admitted to an acute care hospital with a diagnosis of aspiration pneumonia. The patients' basic health information, length of hospital stay (LOS), and oral health assessment tool (OHAT), functional oral intake scale (FOIS), pneumonia severity index, and clinical frailty scale scores were recorded. Patients were divided into two groups based on their median OHAT scores, and intergroup changes were analyzed as a function of time. The relationship between the LOS, FOIS score upon discharge, and OHAT scores at admission was examined using multiple regression analysis. RESULTS: Of the 89 participants (52 were men, with a mean age of 84.8 ± 7.9 years), 75 were discharged. The patients' oral health was measured weekly for 3 weeks after the initial assessment via the OHAT, wherein the median score was 7, with a significant between-group difference. Moreover, OHAT scores improved within both groups throughout their stay. OHAT scores at admission were independently associated with the LOS (B = 5.51, P = 0.009). CONCLUSION: Poor oral health status at admission was associated with longer hospital stays. Both the high- and low-OHAT groups showed OHAT score improvements. Oral health status is critical in preventing the onset of and treating aspiration pneumonia.

Dental Care to Reduce Aspiration Pneumonia Recurrence: A Prospective Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Aspiration pneumonia has a high recurrence rate, and oral care by dentists has been found effective in preventing its onset; however, this has not been evaluated using prospective studies. Therefore, we conducted a prospective study to evaluate the effectiveness of professional oral care by dentists in reducing aspiration pneumonia recurrence in older adult patients. METHODS: In this prospective cohort study, we evaluated a dental oral care intervention, using a historical control group (control group). It was conducted at a single-centre regional core hospital in Japan that serves a large number of patients aged older than 80 years. Patients who were hospitalised for aspiration pneumonia were included in this study. During the study period (1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022), the clinical group received weekly professional cleaning by a dentist and the control group received standard oral care by a nurse as usual from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021. The dentist oral care group received weekly professional oral care from a dentist and was followed prospectively for 1 year. A Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to evaluate the timing of recurrent aspiration pneumonia or death. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to obtain a hazard ratio and determine the 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: There were 91 participants in the clinical group and 94 in the control group. The mean age of participants was 85 years, and 75 (40.5%) were female. The recurrence rate was 27.5% in the clinical group and 44.7% in the control group (P = .005). Professional cleaning by a dentist reduced the risk of recurrence of aspiration pneumonia by approximately 50% (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.465; 95% confidence interval, 0.278-0.78). CONCLUSIONS: Professional cleaning by a dentist was associated with a lower rate of aspiration pneumonia recurrence than nurse-provided conventional oral care.

Factors associated with the oral health status of patients with schizophrenia: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Oral function deterioration attributed to ageing and medications is one of the main contributory factors of dysphagia. Therefore, oral health management is essential in older patients with schizophrenia. However, no previous studies have evaluated the oral function in patients with schizophrenia. OBJECTIVE: We surveyed patients with schizophrenia to identify factors associated with ageing-related variations in oral function. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 34 male patients diagnosed with schizophrenia who were hospitalised at a psychiatric hospital between July and September 2021 and underwent a screening examination during dental care. The survey items included basic information, oral hygiene information, oral (oral diadochokinesis [ODK] and tongue pressure), physical function, and nutritional status. Thirty-six male community-dwelling older individuals were included as controls, and their outcomes were compared with those of patients with schizophrenia. RESULTS: Compared with healthy older adults, patients with schizophrenia demonstrated significantly lower teeth numbers, ODK, and calf circumference (CC) (p < .05). Multiple regression analysis revealed that ODK was associated with age and schizophrenia (p < .05). Conversely, tongue pressure was associated with CC (p < .05), suggesting different factors' association with the parameters indicating decreased oral function. CONCLUSIONS: Our study findings suggest that older patients with schizophrenia have decreased tongue pressure and generalised muscle mass, highlighting the need to manage oral function. Interventions for tongue pressure were more strongly associated with muscle mass and could be easier to manage than those with disease-dependent changes in ODK. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Retrospectively registered.