The comparison of the effects of chlorhexidine mouthwash alone and Chlorhexidine mouthwash followed by oral suctioning on oral hygiene of critically Ill patients [Kritik hastalari{dotless}n aǧi{dotless}z hijyeninde tek başi{dotless}na Klorheksidin gargara ve Klorheksidin gargarayi{dotless} takiben aǧi{dotless}z sekresyonlari{dotless}ni{dotless}n vakumla çekilmesinin etkilerinin karşi{dotless}laşti{dotless}rmasi{dotless}]

Aim: oral hygiene is one of the main issues in nursing care,being especially important among patients admitted to intensive care units (icu). the aim of the study was to assess the effect of chlorhexidine mouthwash alone and 0.2% chlorhexidine mouthwash followed by oral suctioning on oral hygiene in icu patients. material and methods: in a semi-experimental research design,90 patients who were admitted to the icus were selected. patients were randomly divided into two groups. in group i,0.2% chlorhexidine mouthwash alone was applied and in group 2,0.2% chlorhexidine mouthwash was followed by oral suctioning. these procedures were repeated for 7 consecutive days. the oral hygiene status of patients was assessed by using a beck checklist on the 1 st and 7 th days of icu admission. results: oral hygiene scores of group i on the 1 st and 7 th days were 12.4 and 14.3 respectively. in group ii,the scores of the 1 st and 7 th days were 11.8 and 10.5 respectively. oral hygiene status of group i was poorer on the 7 th day,but in group ii oral hygiene had improved on the 7 th day of application. conclusion: we found that using a 0.2% chlorhexidine solution alone is not enough for oral care of patients in the icu and suctioning of the oral secretions after 0.2% chlorhexidine mouthwash will improve oral hygiene in critically ill patients.