Recently published guidelines for the management of hospital-acquired pneumonia and ventilator-associated pneumonia are reviewed for recommendations regarding diagnosis and antimicrobial therapy to assess the implications for development of future clinical trials. Despite some differences (mostly related to likely pathogens), there is a general agreement about the recommended approach to manage...

Learning Objectives: 1. Define ventilator associated pneumonia and identify its related complications 2. Discuss current preventive measures for ventilator associated pneumonia 3. Describe the various mechanisms of probiotics 4. Evaluate the current literature for the use of probiotics for the prevention of ventilator associated pneumonia

In a previous issue of Critical Care, Lorente and colleagues reported the results of a prospective observational study aiming at evaluating the effect of continuous control of cuff pressure (Pcuff ) on the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). The results suggest a beneficial impact of this intervention on VAP prevention, which is in line with the results of a recent randomized co...

The number needed to treat can be calculated for ventilator-associated pneumonia reduction strategies such as subglottic secretion drainage technology based on previous work establishing its relative risk reduction. Assuming an incidence of 4%, employing subglottic secretion drainage in 33 patients will prevent one case of ventilator-associated pneumonia, and thus potentially 4 cases annually i...

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.

background ventilator-associated pneumonia (vap) develops in mechanically ventilated patients 48 hours after putting the patients on the ventilator. vap is the second most common nosocomial infection in neonatal intensive care units (nicu). objectives the current study was conducted to determine the rate, microbiological characteristics and outcome of vap in neonates admitted in the nicu of sho...

OBJECTIVE To test the hypothesis that successful implementation of a care bundle designed to prevent nosocomial airway infection will be associated with decreased incidence of ventilator-associated tracheobronchitis. DESIGN Prospective pre- and post interventional. SETTING PICU at an academic medical center PATIENTS : All patients admitted to the PICU who received invasive mechanical vent...