EFFECT OF A NURSING CARE BUNDLE ON MEDICAL DEVICE-RELATED ORAL MUCOSAL MEMBRANE PRESSURE INJURIES IN INTENSIVE CARE PATIENTS

August 15, 2026 updated by: özlem doğu, Sakarya University
This research was designed as a randomized controlled experimental study to evaluate the effect of a care package, created by combining evidence-based nursing interventions, on the development of oral mucosal membrane pressure injury in mechanically ventilated and intubated patients in tertiary intensive care units. The study aimed to determine the role of the standardized care package in reducing the development of oral mucosal damage compared to routine care practices.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The EPUAP (European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel) defines pressure ulcers as "Pressure injuries are localized injuries to the skin and/or underlying tissue, usually over a bony prominence, resulting from sustained pressure." The National Pressure Injury Advisory Panel (NPIAP) in the United States defines medical device-related pressure injuries as "results in the use of devices designed and applied for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes." In 2019, the term 'medical device-related pressure injury' (MDRPI) was changed to 'device-related pressure injury' (DRPI), a concept that defines the cause of the injury. Mucosal membrane pressure injury (MMPI) is a type of Medical Device-Related Pressure Injury. Mucosal membrane pressure injury (MMPI) is defined by the NPIAP as localized tissue damage occurring in mucous membranes in association with the use of a medical device (endotracheal tube, nasogastric tube, urinary catheter, etc.). Biomechanically, these injuries; MMPI develops as a result of continuous vertical pressure, friction, and shear forces applied to the mucosa by medical devices, leading to tissue ischemia and hypoxia (Amrani and Gefen, 2020). Oral endotracheal tube-associated mucosal pressure injury (OETMMPI) refers to pressure injuries (PI) occurring in the lips or oral mucosa due to pressure from endotracheal tube fixators (Yiğitoğlu & Aydoğan, 2023).

Especially in intensive care units (ICUs), dependence on life-saving medical devices and the loss of consciousness or mobility of patients expose them to a very high risk of MMPI (Cuddigan et al., 2022). Current comprehensive reviews in the literature show that the incidence of MMPI in critically ill patients can range from 0.83% to 88.2%, and the prevalence from 0.16% to 55.6%, with the most frequently affected area being the oral mucosa (Chen et al., 2024). A 5-year retrospective analysis reported that while the overall hospital rate for device-related mucosal injury was 0.1%, this rate was approximately 70 times higher (2.4%) in ICU patients, with 70.3% of cases originating from endotracheal tubes (Fulbrook et al., 2023). According to a 2025 study by Chen et al., approximately half of orotracheal endotracheal tube-related mucosal pressure injuries (OETMMPI) developed on the second day of intubation, with an average occurrence time of the fourth day. Therefore, it was emphasized that ICU patients expected to remain intubated for more than four days should be particularly protected. In conclusion, oral mucosal membrane pressure injuries, which occur with a high incidence in intubated ICU patients, are a significant problem that increases patient pain, raises the risk of infection (e.g., ventilator-associated pneumonia), and leads to worsening of the clinical picture (Chen et al., 2024). To prevent these injuries, early identification of risk factors, regular oral mucosal assessments at the beginning of each shift, and integration of evidence-based nursing care packages into clinical routine are critical requirements (Chen et al., 2024; Özdemir and Kavaklı, 2025). According to a 2025 study by Gao et al., intensive care nurses' knowledge and behavior regarding the OETMMPI were at a moderate level and needed improvement. For all these reasons, preventing these injuries is a crucial aspect of intensive care nursing. The study is planned to be conducted in two parallel tertiary intensive care units at Eskişehir Yunus Emre State Hospital and is a randomized experimental study with a control group. Routine care practices will be continued in one intensive care unit (control group), while an evidence-based standardized care package will be applied in the other (intervention group). The research will not involve any invasive procedures; oral care will be performed. The intervention applied is the standardization of existing nursing care with evidence-based practices. Scale-based assessments will be conducted. Data will be analyzed using appropriate statistical methods. The study sample will consist of mechanically ventilated, intubated patients over 18 years of age with no known oral mucosal disease or cancer history.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

40

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • Turkey (Türkiye)
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      • Eskişehir, Zzz_not_valid_zzz, Turkey (Türkiye), 26100
        • Eskişehir Yunus Emre State Hospital
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Receiving inpatient treatment in a tertiary intensive care unit Orotracheally intubated and receiving invasive mechanical ventilation support Aged 18 years or older Informed consent provided by the patient's legal representative

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Aged under 18 years History of malignant disease (cancer) History of known oral mucosal disease Refusal of informed consent

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Intervention Group
Experimental. Mechanically ventilated adult patients will receive a standardized evidence-based oral care bundle developed to prevent oral mucosal membrane pressure injuries associated with orotracheal endotracheal tubes.
Other: Evidence-Based Oral Care Bundle
A standardized evidence-based nursing oral care bundle will be implemented for mechanically ventilated, orotracheally intubated adult intensive care patients. The bundle will include standardized oral care practices developed from current evidence and expert review, with the aim of reducing the incidence and delaying the development of oral mucosal membrane pressure injuries associated with endotracheal tube use.
No Intervention: Control Group
Active Comparator. Patients will receive the routine oral care practices currently provided in the intensive care unit.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Incidence of Oral Mucosal Membrane Pressure Injury
Time Frame: From enrollment until completion of the 7-day follow-up period
Incidence of oral mucosal membrane pressure injury associated with orotracheal endotracheal tube use, assessed using the Modified Reaper Oral Mucosal Pressure Injury Scale (M-ROMPIS).
From enrollment until completion of the 7-day follow-up period

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Severity of Oral Mucosal Membrane Pressure Injury
Time Frame: 7-day follow-up period.
Severity of Oral Mucosal Membrane Pressure Injury - Severity assessed using M-ROMPIS during the 7-day follow-up period.
7-day follow-up period.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sakarya University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

September 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

November 30, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

November 30, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 15, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 15, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

August 19, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

August 19, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 15, 2026

Last Verified

August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • E-43012747-050.04-590393-418

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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