Severe cases of acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis (AECB) and communityacquired pneumonia (CAP) are included in Lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) also involve hospital acquired pneumonia (HAP); the latter consists of ventilatorassociated pneumonia (VAP) and healthcare-associated pneumonia (HCAP) (Grossman et al., 2005). P. aeruginosa is one of the most common gram-negative bacte...

Yes. In selected patients with hypercapnic respiratory failure due to an acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) is an effective adjunct to usual medical therapy. In controlled trials, it reduced the need for endotracheal intubation, the length of hospital stay, and the risk of death. Acute COPD exacerbations are resp...

ACUTE LUNG INJURY IS A MAJOR cause of acute respiratory failure in patients who are critically ill and is associated with several clinical disorders, including sepsis, pneumonia, and aspiration. Although lifesaving, traditional ventilation strategies with higher tidal volumes and airway pressures can exacerbate lung inflammation and injury. Acute lung injury produces parenchymal lung damage tha...

We have read with interest the letter by EWIG [1] in relation to our article [2]. According to his opinion, our study raises an unproductive debate about the usefulness of bronchoscopic sampling techniques in ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). As it is well known, most of the studies dealing with the diagnostic efficacy of bronchoscopic sampling techniques in VAP include a large percentage ...

The present article is an update of the literature on various types of infections in ICU patients: ventilatorassociated pneumonia, community-acquired pneumonia, the impact of the increasing vancomycin MIC in Staphylococcus aureus in the treatment of infections caused by this microorganism and the usefulness of biomarkers in identifying or ruling out septic complications in ICU patients. A multi...

T he microbiologic analysis of respiratory specimens is a key component of both the clinical investigation of ventilatorassociated pneumonia (YAP) and patient care. Although there is a substantial body of literature on the use of a variety of lower respiratory tract specimens, there is litfie standardization of the approaches to processing and interpreting results from the various specimens. Th...

All baseline characteristics were similar between the treated and the placebo groups. The trial was stopped based on an interim analysis showing statistical futility. The incidence of nosocomial infections was 17.5% (13.2 per 1000 ICU days) in the placebo group and 18.4% (13.3 per 1000 ICU days) in the plaque antiseptic decontamination group (p=NS). No difference was observed in the incidence o...