The association of oral health with length of stay and mortality in the intensive care unit

Objectives To analyze the relationship between the oral and systemic health status of adult patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) with the length of stay and mortality. Material and methods A daily oral examination and oral hygiene were performed in patients admitted to an adult ICU. Dental and oral lesions, systemic health status, the need for mechanical ventilation, length of stay, and mortality were registered. Multivariate linear and logistic regression analyses were performed to identify associations between length of stay and death of patients, respectively, with oral and systemic health status. Results In total, 207 patients were included, 107 (51.7%) male. Ventilated patients presented an increased length of stay ( p