Doubling of respiratory deaths in people with severe mental illness

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People with severe mental illness are more than twice as likely to die from respiratory disease than those without. This new systematic review highlights the scale of the problem and why action on public health and social inequality is just as vital as stop-smoking advice.

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Clozapine and infection risk: new evidence from Hong Kong’s 20-year cohort study

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Clozapine is described as the gold standard treatment for schizophrenia but a new cohort study suggests it is associated with an increased risk of infections, particularly in older patients, further solidifying the case for holistic care.

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Nursing home oral health care measures and pneumonia

The study highlights that there is limited understanding by family carers and older people of funding arrangements, and it often falls to the care home providers to supply information.

This Cochrane review update of the effects of oral care measures in preventing nursing home-acquired pneumonia inlides 6 RCTs. Low-certainty evidence suggests that professional oral care may reduce mortality compared to usual care when measured at 24 months but evidence for other effects is inconclusive.

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Top Dental Elf Blogs: Oct – Dec 2021

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Amoxicillin and metronidazole as an adjunct to full-mouth scaling and root planing, malignant transformation on oral lichen planus and toothbrushing to prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia was out most popular blogs between October to December 2021.

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Ventilator-associated pneumonia: Does toothbrushing with chlorhexidine reduce risk?

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This review of the effect of toothbrushing and chlorhexidine on the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in patients on mechanical ventilation included 7 RCTs. The findings showed that toothbrushing and chlorhexidine reduced VAP,length of stay and duration of ventilation. However the findings should be interpreted cautiously because of study quality.

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Oral hygiene for critically ill patients

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This Cochrane review updated assessing the impact of oral health measures on the incidence of ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) in critically ill patients receiving mechanical ventilation in intensive care includes 40 RCTs and suggests that Chlorhexidine mouthwash or gel, as part of oral health measures, probably reduces the incidence of developing VAP.

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Toothbrushing in intensive care: Does it reduce the risk of ventilator-associated pneumonia?

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This review of whether toothbrushing-based oral health measures, performed in intensive care units, can reduce the risk of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) included 12 RCTs with the findings suggesting a positive effect.

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Oral care for nursing home residents

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This Cochrane review of the effects of oral care on prevention of nursing home acquired pneumonia included 4 RCTs providing low quality evidence that oral care may reduce mortality.

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Oral care for critically ill ventilated patients

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38 RCTs were included in this Cochrane review update of oral health care in ventilated patients. High quality evidence was found to show that chlorhexidine mouthwash or gel reduces the risk of developing ventilator-associated pneumonia in critically ill patients from 25% to about 19%.

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What impact are psychotropic drugs having on our physical health?

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John Baker summarises the findings of a recent review of people with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression. The study looks at the adverse effects on physical health of psychotropic drugs (antipsychotics, antidepressants and mood stabilisers).

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