Perioperative epidural analgesia and prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia.

Dr. Taut is an employee of Nycomed, the manufacturer of Venticute; Drs. Rippin and Spragg have contractual and consulting relationships, respectively, with Nycomed. Dr. Günther serves as a consultant to Nycomed, he has a patent application pending for research related to the manuscript, and is a member of a scientific advisory board in the Venticute study. Reproduction of this article is prohibited without written permission from the American College of Chest Physicians (www.chestjournal. org/site/misc/reprints.xhtml). Correspondence to: Roger G. Spragg, MD, University of California, San Diego, Department of Medicine, 13752 Mercado Dr, Del Mar, CA 92014-3416; e-mail: [email protected] DOI: 10.1378/chest.09-0787