Background and Aims: Oral care is one of the most important treatment programs for patients undergoing mechanical ventilation in ICU that helps prevent nosocomial infections. The aim of this study was to compare two mouthwash solutions: chlorhexidine and ozonated water for prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in patients connected to mechanical ventilation in ICU. Methods: The present study is a double-blind randomized clinical trial performed on eligible patients in the ICU in two hospitals. The Clinical Pulmonary Infection Score (CPIS) checklists and culture swap to examine the presence of microorganism in the patient’s pulmonary secretions were used to evaluate the effect of chlorhexidine mouthwash and ozonated water on incidence of VAP. Results: The effects of both chlorhexidine mouthwash and ozonated water on prevention of VAP varied over time (the first, the third and the fifth days). There was also a significant difference in the incidence of VAP in the two groups of chlorhexidine mouthwash and ozonated water in terms of the culture of pulmonary secretions in the two groups (P= 0.050). Incidence of VAP in the mouthwash group with chlorhexidine, 45.9% and in the mouthwash group with ozonated water, 25% were positive. Conclusion: Ozonated water mouthwash was more effective than chlorhexidine mouthwash in preventing VAP.

Abstract Aim: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of adjuvant use of melatonin in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods: This single-center, double-blind, randomized clinical trial included 74 hospitalized patients with confirmed mild to moderate COVID-19 at Baqiyatallah Hospital in Tehran, Iran, from April 25, 2020 to June 5, 2020. Patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive standard of care and standard of care plus melatonin at a dose of 3 mg three times daily for 14 days. Clinical characteristics, laboratory, and radiological findings were assessed and compared between two study groups at baseline and post-intervention. Safety and clinical outcomes were followed up for four weeks. Results: A total of 24 patients in the intervention group and 20 patients in the control group completed the treatment. Compared with the control group, the clinical symptoms such as cough, dyspnea, and fatigue, as well as the level of CRP and the pulmonary involvement in the intervention group had significantly improved (P < 0.05). The mean time of hospital discharge of patients and return to baseline health was significantly shorter in the intervention group compared to the control group (P < 0.05). No deaths and adverse events were observed in both groups during this study. Conclusions: Adjuvant use of melatonin has a potential to improve clinical symptoms of COVID-19 patients and contribute to a faster return of patients to baseline health. Keywords: COVID-19, Melatonin, Clinical trial, Adjunctive therapy Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04409522