ORAL CARE TO REDUCE COSTS AND INCREASE CLINICAL EFFECTIVENESS IN PREVENTING NOSOCOMIAL PNEUMONIA: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW.

BACKGROUND: Nosocomial pneumonia ranks among the top 5 diseases that lead to additional financial costs due to hospitalization. This study aimed to evaluate the cost of oral care and its clinical effectiveness in preventing pneumonia in a systematic review. METHODS: The search was conducted in the following databases: PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Sciences, Scopus, CINAHL, LILACS, complemented by gray literature and manual search, between January/2021 and August/2022. Two independent reviewers extracted data from the selected articles, individually analyzing each study's quality using the BMJ Drummond checklist. The data were tabulated by clinical or economic type. RESULTS: A total of 3,130 articles were identified; the eligibility criteria were verified, and 12 articles were selected for qualitative analysis. Only 2 achieved satisfactory quality assessment for economic analysis studies. There was heterogeneity between clinical and economic data. Eleven of the 12 studies reported a decrease in the incidence of nosocomial pneumonia following the application of oral care practices. Most authors reported a reduction in the estimate of individual costs, followed by a decrease in the need for antibiotic therapy. The costs of oral care were very low compared to other costs. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the low level of evidence in the literature, heterogeneity and poor quality of the selected studies, most studies concluded that oral care seemed to lead to reduced costs in hospital expenses for treating pneumonia.

Oral Colonization and Virulence Factors of Candida spp. in Babies With Cleft Palate.

OBJECTIVE: To examine oral colonization and virulence factors of Candida spp. in patients aged from 0 to 18 months with cleft palate (CP). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty babies were allocated into 3 groups: CP, CP with orthodontic plate (CPwP), and control group (Ctrl) without CP. Information on feeding habits, hygiene, and history of candidosis was collected. The presence of Candida spp. was investigated in samples of saliva. Fungal hydrophobicity, protease, esterase, phospholipase, and hemolysin were evaluated in a semiquantitative manner. RESULTS: Positive oral isolations of Candida spp. were detected in CP (89.5%), CPwP (100%), and Ctrl (44%) groups. Candidosis was more reported in the cleft groups than in the Ctrl group (P ≤ .023). There was a higher prevalence of Candida albicans, followed by Candida krusei, Candida tropicalis, and Candida parapsilosis in all groups. There was no uniformity of expression of virulence factors, either among different species or among different groups. CONCLUSION: Candida spp. colonization occurred in all groups, being superior in CPwP group. Candidosis episodes were more reported in patients from CPwP than in other groups, although candidosis was also registered in other groups. Candida albicans was the predominant species and virulence factors did not exhibit any pattern for species or groups of patients.