title: Clinical assessment of the oral cavity of patients hospitalized in an intensive care unit of an emergency hospital.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the oral health status of patients hospitalized in an intensive care unit.
  
  
  METHODS
  Clinical assessment of the oral cavity was performed in 35 patients at two time-points (up to 48 hours after admission and 72 hours after the first assessment) and recorded in data collection forms. The following data were collected: plaque index, condition of the mucosa, presence or absence of dental prosthesis, number of teeth present, and tongue coating index.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of nosocomial infection was 22% (eight patients), with 50% respiratory tract infections. All patients exhibited oral biofilm, and 20 (57%) showed biofilm visible to the naked eye; tongue coating was present on more than two thirds of the tongue in 24 patients (69%) and was thick in most cases. A significant increase in plaque index (p=0.007) occurred after 72 hours, although the tongue coating index was p<0.001 regarding the area and p=0.5 regarding the thickness.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The plaque and tongue coating indices increased with the length of hospital stay at the intensive care unit.
authors.affiliation: Prefeitura Municipal de Colatina, Colatina, ES, Brasil.
authors.forename: Maristela Kapitski
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: da Cruz
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Saúde Odontológica, Barretos, SP, Brasil.
authors.forename: Teresa Márcia Nascimento de
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Morais
authors.affiliation: Centro Universitário, Fundação Educacional de Barretos, Barretos, SP, Brasil.
authors.forename: Deny Munari
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Trevisani
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018441:Biofilms; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003774:Dental Plaque Index; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009055:Mouth / Q000382:microbiology*; D009909:Oral Health; D015995:Prevalence; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000453:epidemiology; D013997:Time Factors; D014059:Tongue / Q000382:microbiology