The effect of Chlorhexidine in reducing oral colonization in geriatric patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Status

Completed

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ANZCTR

Registry ID

ACTRN12614001259639

Enrollment

Registered

2014-12-02

Start date

2013-01-01

Completion date

2013-03-25

Last updated

2020-01-13

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

None listed

Brief summary

A double blinded parallel randomized controlled trial was carried out. The intervention group received oral care with chlorhexidine whereas the control group received routine oral care (with thymol). Oral care was performed by nurses with assigned solutions once daily with 20 ml assigned solution per procedure for 7 days. Oral cavity assessment using Brief Oral Health Status Examination (BOHSE) form was performed before procedure day 1 to day 7. Data on medication received and the development of aspiration pneumonia was taken. Specimen for oral swab for colonization was taken on day 7. The final sample consisted of 35 (control) and 42 patients (intervention) subjects. CHX was effective in reducing oral colonization compared to routine oral care with thymol (p<0.001).Thymol group had nearly 3 times higher risk of oral bacterial colonization compared to the CHX group.

Interventions

Oral care by nurses using 0.2% chlorhexidine mouthwash for 7 days, once daily with 20 ml per procedure. Oral Health Assessment of Older Adults : The Kayser-Jones brief oral health Status Examination (BOHSE) was used to monitor adherence to the intervention.

Study design

Allocation

Randomised controlled trial

Intervention model

Parallel

Primary purpose

Prevention

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Age

65 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

Patients admitted to the geriatric ward in University Malaya Medical Center (UMMC), aged 65 years old and above, edentulous with or without dentures and those with functional impairment.

Exclusion criteria

Patients who have current oral infections or a diagnosis of pneumonia during admission. They also were not on antibiotics for at least two weeks before enrolling into the study.

Outcome results