Comparison of rinsing with chlorhexidine and matrica mouthwashes on the ventilator- associated pneumonia

: Introduction: The present study aimed to compare the effect of two methods of rinsing with chlorhexidine Oral hygiene in patients undergoing endotracheal intubation is one of the most important tasks of nurses, and Matrica mouthwashes on the incidence of ventilator-induced pneumonia (VAP) in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Materials and Methods: This is a clinical trial carried out on 80 patients undergoing oral endotracheal intubation. Patients were included in the study using simple sampling and randomly divided into chlorhexidine mouthwash and the matrica mouthwash groups. Data collection was carried out using a demographic information questionnaire and clinical pulmonary infection score (CPIS). Results: The results also showed that most participants in the chamomile group (75%) did not have pneumonia, but the chlorhexidine group had pneumonia in 77.5% of cases. The Chi-square test showed a statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of the incidence and non-incidence of pneumonia (p = 0). Also, the odd ratio of developing pneumonia in the chamomile mouthwash to chlorhexidine mouthwash was 0.30%. Conclusion: Considering the advantages of herbal compounds such as their low price and low risk, matrica can be considered a suitable alternative to chlorhexidine.