Oral Health Status Using the Revised Oral Assessment Guide and Mortality in Older Orthopaedic Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Purpose: Orthogeriatric hospitalised patients with fractures of the lower limb constitute a vulnerable population with increased risk of morbidity, polypharmacy, and mortality as well as impaired oral health. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate whether any relationship existed between oral health issues in older orthopaedic patients and mortality. Material and Methods: The study population consisted of older orthopedic patients emergently admitted to a hospital in southern Sweden due to mainly fractures of the hip. Their oral health at admission was assessed by trained nurses using the revised oral assessment guide (ROAG), as well as examined by dental hygienists. Medical and demographic data were collected from medical records and mortality from the national population registry. Comorbidity was assessed using the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI). Data were analysed using foremost dichotomized data derived from mean values and then processed using multiple logistic regression adjusted for identified probable confounders. Results: Of the 187 study patients (≥65 years) with a mean age of 81 (SD 7.9) years, 71% were women, mean CCI score was 6.7 and 90-days mortality 12.3%. Oral health issues (ROAG >8, 73%) consisted mainly of problems with teeth/dentures (41%), tongue (36%), lips (35%), and saliva (28%). In patients with any oral health impairment (ROAG >8) the 90-days mortality was significantly increased (p=0.040), using logistic regression analysis adjusted for age, gender, comorbidity, and use of ≥5 drugs. In patients with a ROAG score ≥10 (≥mean) the association remained at 90-days (p=0.029) and 180-days (p=0.013). Decayed teeth were present in 24% and was significantly associated with ROAG >8 (p=0.020). Conclusion: The main finding of this study was a possible relationship between oral health impairment at admission and early mortality in orthogeriatric hospitalised patients. The opportunity to identify their oral health problems can help improving further care planning and care.

Guía de valoración pediátrica de urgencias en Cuba

La valoración pediátrica de urgencias tiene características especiales respecto al resto de la atención pediátrica. El diagnóstico final será una prioridad secundaria. Es una evaluación clínica, cuyo intento principal es la identificación de aspectos anatómicos y fisiológicos anormales, la estimación de la gravedad de la enfermedad o lesión y la determinación de la necesidad de tratamiento urgente. El objetivo de esta colaboración es brindar una sistemática clara, con una secuencia de valoraciones y acciones que sirvan de base para la toma de decisiones clínicas orientadas a la estabilización del paciente y a evitar situaciones que pueden amenazar la vida en poco tiempo. El triángulo de evaluación pediátrica, la secuencia ABCDE, una breve anamnesis y examen enfocado que identifique el motivo de consulta de mayor prioridad, signos de alarma que pueden cambiar la prioridad y las reevaluaciones frecuentes serán los pilares de la actuación médica. Con el propósito de respetar el derecho del niño al disfrute del más alto nivel posible de salud, de garantizar la calidad asistencial y la seguridad de los pacientes pediátricos con entidades agudas o traumatismos, el grupo nacional de pediatría desarrolló y aprobó la guía de valoración pediátrica de urgencias en Cuba. Mediante la aplicación de esta guía se puede optimizar el proceso de valoración pediátrica de urgencias de forma que los pacientes de este segmento de edad reciban el nivel de cuidados médicos más apropiado para su situación clínica.

The pediatric emergency assessment has special characteristics with respect to the rest of pediatric care. The final diagnosis will be a secondary priority. It is a clinical evaluation, and the main purpose of it is the identification of abnormal anatomical and physiological aspects, the estimation of the severity of the disease or injury and the determination of the need for urgent treatment. The objective of this collaboration is to provide a clear system, with a sequence of assessments and actions that serve as a basis for clinical decision-making aimed at stabilizing the patient and avoiding life-threatening situations in a short time. The pediatric assessment triangle, the ABCDE sequence, a brief history and focused examination that identifies the highest priority reason for consultation, warning signs that may change priority and frequent re-evaluations will be the pillars of medical action. To respect the right of the child to have access to the highest possible level of health, to guarantee the quality of care and its safety in the face of acute conditions or trauma, the National Group of Pediatrics developed and approved the guide for pediatric emergency assessment in Cuba. Through its application, the pediatric emergency evaluation process can be optimized so that patients of this age segment receive the most appropriate level of medical care for their clinical situation.

Oral frailty dissected and conceptualized: A scoping review.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this scoping review was threefold: 1. to identify existing definitions of oral frailty and similar terms in gerodontology literature; 2. to assess the oral frailty definitions and analyze whether these are well formulated on a conceptual level; and 3. in the absence of existing definitions meeting the criteria for good conceptual definitions, a new conceptual definition of oral frailty will be presented. METHODS: A search was performed in electronic databases and internet search engines. Studies explaining or defining oral frailty or similar terms were of interest. A software-aided procedure was performed to screen titles and abstracts and identify definitions of oral frailty and similar terms. We used a guide to assess the quality of the oral frailty definitions on methodological, linguistic, and content-related criteria. RESULTS: Of the 1,528 screened articles, 47 full-texts were reviewed. Thirteen of these contained seven definitions of oral frailty and ten definitions of similar terms. We found that all definitions of oral frailty contain the same or equivalent characteristics used to define the concepts of 'oral health', 'deterioration of oral function', and 'oral hypofunction'. Between the seven definitions, oral frailty is described with a different number and combination of characteristics, resulting in a lack of conceptual consistency. None of the definitions of oral frailty met all criteria. CONCLUSION: According to our analysis, the current definitions of oral frailty cannot be considered 'good' conceptual definitions. Therefore, we proposed a new conceptual definition: Oral frailty is the age-related functional decline of orofacial structures.

Image diagnosis models for the oral assessment of older people using convolutional neural networks: A retrospective observational study.

AIMS: The purpose of this study was to construct a model for oral assessment using deep learning image recognition technology and to verify its accuracy. BACKGROUND: The effects of oral care on older people are significant, and the Oral Assessment Guide has been used internationally as an effective oral assessment tool in clinical practice. However, additional training, education, development of user manuals and continuous support from a dental hygienist are needed to improve the inter-rater reliability of the Oral Assessment Guide. DESIGN: A retrospective observational study. METHODS: A total of 3,201 oral images of 114 older people aged >65 years were collected from five dental-related facilities. These images were divided into six categories (lips, tongue, saliva, mucosa, gingiva, and teeth or dentures) that were evaluated by images, out of the total eight items that comprise components of the Oral Assessment Guide. Each item was classified into a rating of 1, 2 or 3. A convolutional neural network, which is a deep learning method used for image recognition, was used to construct the image recognition model. The study methods comply with the STROBE checklist. RESULTS: We constructed models with a classification accuracy of 98.8% for lips, 94.3% for tongue, 92.8% for saliva, 78.6% for mucous membranes, 93.0% for gingiva and 93.6% for teeth or dentures. CONCLUSIONS: Highly accurate diagnostic imaging models using convolutional neural networks were constructed for six items of the Oral Assessment Guide and validated. In particular, for the five items of lips, tongue, saliva, gingiva, and teeth or dentures, models with a high accuracy of over 90% were obtained. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The model built in this study has the potential to contribute to obtain reproducibility and reliability of the ratings, to shorten the time for assessment, to collaborate with dental professionals and to be used as an educational tool.

Improvement in Oral Health Enhances the Recovery of Activities of Daily Living and Dysphagia after Stroke.

OBJECTIVE: Oral problems affect rehabilitation outcomes. This study aimed to examine the association between improvement in oral health and functional outcomes in patients after stroke. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective cohort study included post-acute rehabilitation patients who presented with oral problems at admission. Oral problems were assessed using the Revised Oral Assessment Guide (ROAG). The ROAG score change during hospitalization was calculated by subtracting the score at admission from the score at discharge; oral problems were defined as "improved", when the score change value was lower than the median value. Study outcomes were the activities of daily living assessed by the motor domain of the Functional Independence Measure (FIM-motor) scores and dysphagia as assessed by the Food Intake Level Scale (FILS). Multivariate regression analyses were used to determine whether improved oral problems were associated with study outcomes. P-values of <0.05 were considered statistically significant. RESULTS: This study included 300 patients (mean age, 72.0 years; 51.7% men). The median [IQR] baseline ROAG score and its change value during hospitalization were 11 [10, 14] and -1[-3, 0] points, respectively. Multivariate analyses showed that improved oral problems was independently associated with FIM-motor score (ß = 0.144, p = 0.001) and FILS score (ß = 0.227, p < 0.001) at discharge, after adjusting for potential confounders. CONCLUSIONS: Improvement in oral health was positively associated with recovery of the ADL and dysphagia after stroke. Early detection of oral problems and oral treatment should be implemented in these patients to maximize functional recovery.

Resistance to Preoperative Oral Care Is Associated With Postoperative Pneumonia After Oesophageal Cancer Surgery.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Postoperative pneumonia is a serious complication of major oesophageal surgery. We aimed to clarify the association between the degree of improvement in oral hygiene by perioperative oral care and postoperative pneumonia in oesophageal cancer patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Oesophageal cancer patients (n=129) who underwent esophagectomy received perioperative oral care. Their oral hygiene was evaluated using the Oral Assessment Guide (OAG). The relationship between perioperative OAG scores and postoperative complications was analysed. RESULTS: The average OAG scores before starting oral care, pre-operation, and post-operation were 11.0±1.7, 9.1±1.5, and 11.2±3.0, respectively (p<0.001). An increase in preoperative OAG scores was independently associated with postoperative pneumonia on multivariate analysis (p=0.027). CONCLUSION: Preoperative oral care improves oral hygiene in patients undergoing oesophageal cancer surgery. No improvement in oral hygiene despite preoperative oral care was an independent predictor of postoperative pneumonia.

Relationship between Dysphagia or Oral Intake and Oral Status Using the Revised Oral Assessment Guide / The Japanese Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine

Objective：The Revised Oral Assessment Guide (ROAG) is a screening tool for evaluating oral status. However, no study has directly investigated the relationship between ROAG and dysphagia or oral intake at discharge. Therefore, this study aimed to retrospectively analyze the presence, or absence, of such a relationship from the participants' medical records.Methods：In total, 88 patients who were admitted to our hospital from October 2019 to March 2020 and underwent swallowing tests after consultations with attending physicians were enrolled in the study. The degree of dysphagia was evaluated using the Dysphagia Severity Scale (DSS) after carrying out video fluoroscopy or fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing. ROAG was performed weekly by a ward nurse, from the time of admission to discharge. Based on the results of the tests, the relationship between ROAG and dysphagia or oral intake was statistically analyzed.Results：A significant relationship was revealed between the ROAG score at admission and DSS. No significant relationship was found between ROAG score at admission and oral intake at discharge. On the other hand, in the group in which ROAG score at discharge increased (deteriorated) compared to that at admission, a significant negative correlation was observed between the degree of the ROAG increase and oral intake at discharge. This implied that deterioration of the oral status may possibly lead to difficulty in oral intake.Conclusion：These results suggest that the ROAG-based oral status assessment is useful for predicting dysphagia or oral intake in patients admitted to an acute care hospital.

Is an oral health coaching programme a way to sustain oral health for elderly people in nursing homes? A feasibility study.

OBJECTIVES: This study examines the feasibility of an oral health coaching programme involving practical support on individual level to staff in a nursing home in Sweden, aiming to improve oral health care-related beliefs of nursing staff and the oral health of residents. METHODS: This intervention study consisted of three wards from one nursing home, and both staff (n = 48) and residents (n = 58) were invited. In the control ward, 9 staff and 16 residents participated; in test ward 1, 10 staff and 13 residents participated; and at test ward 2, 14 staff and 17 residents participated. An oral health coaching programme was performed 4 h/wk for 3 months. The staff completed the nursing Dental Coping Beliefs Scale at baseline and after 9 months. Oral health of the residents was assessed using the Revised Oral Assessment Guide and mucosal-plaque score at baseline and after 3, 6 and 9 months. RESULTS: At baseline, 33 staff participated and 22 at 9 months follow-up. For the residents, the figures were 48 and 32, respectively. After the intervention, the nursing DCBS revealed changes related to usage of fluoride, oral health support, gum disease and approximal cleaning. The most frequently reported oral health problems among the residents pertained to teeth and gums. The residents' relatively high level of oral health was stable during the study period. CONCLUSIONS: Despite limitations in the programme, an oral health coaching programme can support nursing staff in maintaining a high level of oral health in residents. The programme was shown feasible, although design improvements are needed.

The Relationship of Oral Care Practice at Home with Mucositis Incidence in Children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

Mucositis is a common and devastating side effect of chemotherapeutic agents in children undergoing chemotherapy. The prevention and management of mucositis are necessary to improve these children's quality of life. Oral care is a recommended strategy for preventing and managing oral mucositis. Thus, the objective of this study was to identify the relationship between oral care practice and mucositis incidence. A cross-sectional analytical design was used in this study. A total of 34 children from 3 to 12 years of age with acute lymphoblastic leukemia who were in the last cycle of chemotherapy were recruited through a snowball sampling method. The Oral Assessment Guide (OAG) was administered to assess the severity of mucositis. A majority of the participants (51.5%) had mucositis after completing the last cycle of chemotherapy. Furthermore, there was a statistically significant relationship between their oral care practice at home and mucositis incidence. These results show that oral care at home is linked with the incidence and severity of mucositis. Nurses should educate children with leukemia and their parents regarding good oral hygiene practice.

Inter-rater reliability of the Oral Assessment Guide for oral cancer patients between nurses and dental hygienists: the difficulties in objectively assessing oral health.

PURPOSE: Perioperative oral care is effective for the prevention and reduction of complications following surgery. However, oral cancer patients' oral health is often poor. During hospitalization, oral cancer patients frequently receive oral care from ward nurses as well as professional oral care from dental hygienists. Maintenance of good oral hygiene in these patients ideally requires cooperation between nurses and dental hygienists. Consequently, communication tools used to share information about the status of patients' oral health are needed. One such tool is the Oral Assessment Guide (OAG). However, the inter-rater reliability of the OAG has not been consistently reported; therefore, we examined this between nurses and dental hygienists. METHODS: Participants comprised 76 patients hospitalized for oral cancer treatment. After surgery, a nurse and a dental hygienist performed oral assessments using the OAG. Comparative statistical analyses were conducted to examine differences and consistencies in the scores of nurses and dental hygienists. RESULTS: Although almost all patients' oral health status was poor, none were given the worst score in the mucous membrane or gingiva categories. Further, the tongue, saliva, mucous membrane, gingiva, and teeth/denture categories had low κ coefficients, indicating poor nurse-dental hygienist inter-rater reliability. In contrast, the κ coefficients and agreement rates for voice and swallowing were high. Dental hygienists' scores were significantly higher for the tongue, gingiva, and teeth/denture categories than were nurses' scores. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed low nurse-dental hygienist inter-rater reliability for the OAG and highlighted the difficulties in objectively assessing patients' symptoms and oral health conditions. Therefore, rather than only relying on an objective assessment of symptoms by a clinician, assessments should also include patients' subjective reporting of symptoms. OAG will likely be used until a new assessment tool is developed. Objective assessment training and/or user manual development may be required to improve the reliability of OAG. The present training of one lesson a year is insufficient, and efforts should be made to improve this to get more reliable outcomes.

Update: The Purnell Theory and Model for Culturally Competent Health Care.

The Purnell model and theory were created in 1998 and received input for clarity and parsimonious assumptions from several faculty at the University of Delaware. Initially, they were used in education and clinical practice settings to develop them further and to determine their usefulness in those settings. Since that time, changes have been made with additional assumptions, variant characteristics of culture, and an extensive assessment guide that can be used by all health professionals.

Using oral health assessment to predict aspiration pneumonia in older adults.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the significance of comprehensive assessment of oral health using the revised oral assessment guide (ROAG) in older adults with pneumonia. BACKGROUND: Oral health plays a major role in the eating-swallowing process. The role of comprehensive assessment of oral health in older adults with aspiration pneumonia has not been evaluated in detail. The ROAG is a screening tool for comprehensive assessment and has been shown to have a high sensitivity and specificity for the assessment of oral health. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively studied 238 adults with pneumonia, aged 65 years and above, in whom the ROAG score had been assessed between December 2014 and June 2016. Participants were divided into two groups based on aspiration risk, as defined by Marik et al; correlation between the ROAG score and the risk of aspiration was evaluated. RESULTS: Two hundred and fifteen adults (90.3%) were found to be at aspiration risk. According to the ROAG score, mild-to-moderate and severe oral problems were noted in 38 (16.0%) and 200 (84.0%) adults, respectively. Aspiration risk was noted in 68.4% and 94.5% of adults with mild-to-moderate and severe oral problems, respectively (P < .0001). The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve for ROAG to predict aspiration risk was 0.72 (95% confidence interval: 0.60-0.84). Furthermore, a high ROAG score was an independent predictor of aspiration risk in our study population. CONCLUSION: In clinical practice, oral health assessment using ROAG can help predict aspiration risk in older adults with pneumonia.

A Self-Assessment Guide for Resident Teaching Experiences.

The 2015 American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) Educational Affairs Committee was charged with developing a self-assessment guide for residency programs to quantitatively and qualitatively evaluate the outcomes of resident teaching curricula. After extensively reviewing the literature, the committee developed assessment rubrics modeled after the 2013 ACCP white paper titled "Guidelines for Resident Teaching Experiences" and the revised American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) 2014 accreditation standards for PGY1 residencies, which place greater emphasis on the teaching and learning curriculum (TLC) than the previous accreditation standards. The self-assessment guide developed by the present committee can serve as an assessment tool for both basic and expanded TLCs. It provides the criteria for program goals, mentoring, directed readings with topic discussions, teaching experiences, and assessment methodology. For an expanded TLC, the committee has provided additional guidance on developing a teaching philosophy, becoming involved in interactive seminars, expanding teaching experiences, developing courses, and serving on academic committees. All the guidelines listed in the present paper use the measures "not present," "developing," and "well developed" so that residency program directors can self-assess along the continuum and identify areas of excellence and areas for improvement. Residency program directors should consider using this new assessment tool to measure program quality and outcomes of residency teaching experiences. Results of the assessment will help residency programs focus on areas within the TLC that will potentially benefit from additional attention and possible modification.

Arquitectura de información y usabilidad: nociones básicas para los profesionales de la información / Information architecture and usability: basic notes for information professionals

Se describen los antecendentes y se definen las nociones de "arquitectura de información" y "usabilidad". Se tratan detalladamente ciertos aspectos relacionados con la organización de la información como son: la ambigüedad, la heterogeneidad y la homogeneidad; se proponen recomendaciones sobre como organizar la información en sitios web e intranets. Se realiza un grupo de consideraciones sobre los diferentes esquemas y estructuras de organización de la información existentes. Se realiza un recorrido por los sistemas de navegación y sus distintos tipos. Finalmente, de desarrolló una guía de estilo para la evaluación de la arquitectura de información y la usabilidad de los sitios. Se establecen y explican los pasos elementales para el diseño y evaluación de los productos de información creados para el World Wide Web (WWW).

The background is described and some notes on "information architecture" and "usability". Some aspect related to information arrangement such as ambiguity, heterogeneity, and homogeneity are analized in detail, some recomendation for the information arrangement in web sites and intranets are also given. Some consideration regarding the schemes and structures of arrangement information are carried out. An overview of the different kinds of browsing systems are offered. Finally a style guide of information arrangement and web sites use is developed. The main steps of the design and assessment of information products created for the World Wide Web are established.