Bacterial pneumonia and its association with chronic periodontal disease among the patients attending at Barind Medical College Hospital, Rajshahi

Pneumonia is an infectious disease of the respiratory tract that causes inflammation of the pulmonary parenchyma. The study aimed to determine the relationship between bacterial pneumonia and chronic periodontitis. This was a cross sectional type of descriptive study which was carried out among the 104 patients attending at Dental Outpatient Department, Barind Medical College Hospital, Rajshahi for the treatment of chronic periodontitis which were selected purposely. Most responders (46.2%) were between the ages of 21 and 30, and the vast majorities (88.5%) were men. Data showed that 92.0% of people came from a nuclear family, 63.5% had completed high school, and 70.2% had a monthly house hold income of less than 10,000 Taka. Great majority (46.2%) lived in standard housing without windows (52.9%) or ventilation (66.0%). With regards to the evaluation of chronic periodontal condition, 87.5% of those with community acquired pneumonia had history of gum bleeding, compared to 95.2% of those with no history of this. Most cases of pneumonia were identified as being caused by Streptococcus pneumonia (59.80%) after bacteriological testing. One-way analysis of variance revealed a significant correlation (p<0.001) between oral hygiene index, dental calculus index and dental periodontal index and bacterial pneumonia. Bacterial pneumonia was found to be substantially linked with housing condition, ventilation, sunlight and oral hygiene index (p<0.05). People would not get bacterial pneumonia if we told them to take care of their gums and teeth, patients who had received periodontal therapy and practiced good oral hygiene were found to have a risk of pneumonia that was nearly half that of the general population.