Association Between Periodontitis and Nosocomial Pneumonia: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Observational Studies.

PURPOSE

To assess the relationship between periodontitis and nosocomial pneumonia in intensive care unit (ICU) patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The present study was conducted in accordance with the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement and registered (CRD42018105124) with PROSPERO (International prospective register for systematic reviews, University of York, York, UK). A search was conducted in five databases without restrictions regarding language or date of publication. From 560 studies selected, 10 underwent full-text analysis. Five studies were eligible (five case-control studies), and all were entered in the meta-analysis. Meta-analysis was performed with tests for sensitivity and statistical heterogeneity. Summary effect measures were calculated by odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI).

RESULTS

There was a significant association between periodontitis and nosocomial pneumonia in the meta-analysis (OR 2.55, 95% CI 1.68 to 3.86). In this meta-analysis, I2 = 0%.

CONCLUSIONS

The evidence demonstrates a positive association between periodontitis and nosocomial pneumonia. Individuals with periodontitis admitted to the ICU were more likely to present nosocomial pneumonia than individuals without periodontitis.