Measurements and results
Incidence of VAP(episodes of pneumonia per 1000 ventilator days) in the oral care group was significantly lower than that in the non-oral care group (3.9 vs 10.4). The relative risk of VAP in the oral care group compared to that in the non-oral care group was 0.37, with an attributable risk of −3.96%. Furthermore, length of stay in ICU before onset of VAP was greater in the oral care than in the non-oral care group (8.5 ± 4.6 vs 6.3 ± 7.5 days). However, no significant difference was observed in either duration of mechanical ventilation or length of stay between the groups (5.9 ± 10.8 vs 6.0 ± 8.8 days and 7.5 ± 11.5 vs 7.2 ± 9.5 days, respectively). Pseudomonoas aeruginosa was the most frequently detected bacteria in both groups. Number of potentially pathogenic bacteria in oral cavity was significantly reduced by single oral care procedure.