Ventilator-associated pneumonia is a severe complication among patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Although hospital-acquired bacterial pathogens, often multidrug resistant, are the most frequent cause, non-bacterial atypical and opportunistic agents traditionally associated with immunocompromise are increasingly recognized. We describe ventilator-associated pneumonia due to Pneumocystis jirov...

Definitions of ventilator-associated pneumonia do not note a preferred daily time for obtaining denominator data. We examined collecting data on the number of ventilator-days at different times of day in 7 intensive care units. Rates of ventilator-associated pneumonia did not significantly differ when denominator data were collected at midnight, 8 am, or 4 pm, supporting standard definitions.

Ventilator-associated pneumonia is the commonest, yet mostly preventable, infection in mechanically ventilated patients. Successful control of ventilatorassociated pneumonia can save hospitalisation cost, and is possible by using a multidisciplinary clinical and administrative approach. The ventilatorassociated pneumonia rate should be expressed as the number of ventilator-associated pneumonia ...

OBJECTIVE >To evaluate the agreement between a new epidemiological surveillance method of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the clinical pulmonary infection score for mechanical ventilator-associated pneumonia detection. METHODS This was a prospective cohort study that evaluated patients in the intensive care units of two hospitals who were intubated for more than 48 hours bet...

Patients with nosocomial pneumonia have evidence of immunosuppression. The most obvious defect in immunity is the loss of mechanical barriers with an endotracheal tube. Only a third of colonized patients on ventilators develop pneumonia, however, suggesting that altered immunity is more extensive. This subgroup of patients tends to get multiple synchronous and sequential infections. The exact m...

OBJECTIVE Ventilator-associated pneumonia remains a major challenge in the intensive care unit. The role for invasive diagnostic methods (e.g., bronchoscopy) remains unclear. We hypothesized that invasive testing would alter antibiotic management in patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia but would not necessarily alter mortality. DESIGN Meta-analysis of randomized, controlled trials of...

OBJECTIVES Ventilator-associated pneumonia is the most common intensive care unit-acquired infection. Although there is widespread consensus that evidenced-based interventions reduce the risk of ventilator-associated pneumonia, controversy has surrounded the importance of implementing them as a "bundle" of care. This study aimed to determine the effects of implementing such a bundle while contr...

BACKGROUND Ventilator-associated pneumonia is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. OBJECTIVE To examine the effects of mechanical (toothbrushing), pharmacological (topical oral chlorhexidine), and combination (toothbrushing plus chlorhexidine) oral care on the development of ventilator-associated pneumonia in critically ill patients receiving mechanical ventilation. METHODS Cr...