In patients on mechanical ventilation, does effective oral hygiene care prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP)?

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is an example of a major hospital-acquired infection (HAI) that occurs when a lung infection results from use of a ventilator. A major cause of VAP is aspiration of oral bacteria due to ineffective or absent oral hygiene (Gupta et al., 2016).Though serious, the rate of VAP can be decreased through nursing interventions. The purpose of this research study is to determine how the implementation of a frequent, standardized oral hygiene regimen can decrease the risk of ventilator-associated pneumonia in those patients receiving mechanical ventilation. Through the use of peer-reviewed research articles and published research studies, we will look at the impact of oral hygiene in this population on health care costs and overall patient outcomes. We predict that the early and consistent implementation of oral hygiene in mechanically ventilated patients will decrease the risk of VAP, reduce health care costs, and improve patient outcomes