Assessment of oral health in elderly patients with dementia by measuring volatile sulfur compounds and its relationship with pneumonia development: A pilot study.

Background: This study aimed to clarify the involvement of anaerobes in aspiration pneumonia by measuring volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs), which are metabolites of anaerobic bacteria in the mouth.
Methods: This study included 84 older adult patients (mean age, 82.5 ± 7.34 years) who had dementia and were hospitalized for more than 6 months. We measured the VSCs in the patient's mouth with Oral Chroma and obtained the data of pneumonia development in the past 6 months. We also evaluated the association or correlation of VSCs and some factors which might be the risk factors of aspiration pneumonia.
Results: The development of pneumonia had no significant association with the VSCs in the patient's mouth.
Conclusion: The present pilot study suggests that anaerobes might not be the main causative pathogens of aspiration pneumonia in older adult patients.
Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest The authors declare no conflict of interest.
(Copyright © 2021 The Japanese Respiratory Society. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)