Comparison of the Effect of Chlorhexidine Mouthwash with Matrika Mouthwash Drop on Probable Ventilator-associated Pneumonia in Intensive Care Unit

Daily use of Chlorhexidine mouthwash following endotracheal intubation is done routinely in intensive care units (ICU). Matrika (Chamomile extract) has shown antibiotic activities, and several articles report it has similar preventive effect as Chlorhexidine on ventilator associated pneumonia, and also on oral cavity hygiene. Our study aimed to compare rate of VAP occurrence in two groups of intubated patients receiving Chlorhexidine and Matrika in Alzahra hospital’s ICU.
In this trial 90 ICU patients who were intubated endotracheally, were randomly divided into two groups who will receive one of Chlorhexidine (group A) or Matrika (group B) mouthwash every 8 hours. Occurrence of VAP was determined in the following 5 days after intubation, using the standard VAP diagnosis criterion.
8 of 45 (17%) patients experienced VAP in the first five days after intubation in the Chlorhexidine group, and, 9 of 45 (20%) patients in the Matrika group experienced the same condition. VAP rate was not significantly lower in the Chlorhexidine group (p value= 0.73).
The results show that VAP occurs in Chlorhexidine and Matrika group approximately at a similar rate. Our findings recommend further studies on Matrika as an alternative to Chlorhexidine.