A 2015 Update on Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia: New Insights on Its Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment

Abstract

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), an infection of the lower respiratory tract which occurs in association with mechanical ventilation, is one of the most common causes of nosocomial infection in the intensive care unit (ICU). VAP causes significant morbidity and mortality in critically ill patients including increased duration of mechanical ventilation, ICU stay and hospitalization. Current knowledge for its prevention, diagnosis and management is therefore important clinically and is the basis for this review. We discuss recent changes in VAP surveillance nomenclature incorporating ventilator-associated conditions and ventilator-associated events, terms recently proposed by the Centers for Disease Control. To the extent possible, we rely predominantly on data from randomized control trials (RCTs) and meta-analyses.

Clinical epidemiology, treatment and prognostic factors of extensively drug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii ventilator-associated pneumonia in critically ill patients

“…Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a common lethal infection in critical care settings 52 which is also associated with increased morbidity and health care costs [1]. Acinetobacter 53 baumannii (AB), a pathogen with an alarming ability to rapidly develop antimicrobial 54 resistance, is a major cause of VAP worldwide [1,2].…”

“…Acinetobacter 53 baumannii (AB), a pathogen with an alarming ability to rapidly develop antimicrobial 54 resistance, is a major cause of VAP worldwide [1,2]. The emergence of extensively-drug 55 resistant (XDR) strains that are resistant to all but one or two antibiotic classes and often 56 cause hospital outbreaks has become a serious public health threat [2-6].…”

Continuous Versus Intermittent Subglottic Secretion Drainage to Prevent Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia: A Systematic Review

“…Several meta-analyses and guidelines have also highly recommended using SSD for VAP prophylaxis. 5,7,[11][12][13][14]16 However, a recent meta-analysis concluded that although SSD may significantly lower the incidence of VAP, it did not reduce the duration of mechanical ventilation, length of hospital stay, ventilator-associated events, mortality rate, or antibiotic use, raising concerns about the usefulness of SSD. 8 We conducted our study under the assumption that SSD is beneficial, but because the efficacy of SSD remains unclear, our results should be interpreted with caution.…”

Healthcare‐acquired infections: prevention strategies

“…2 Table 1 summarises common HAI and outlines preventive strategies. [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] In this review, we have focused on the illustrative problems of carbapenem resistance and CDI, and on Infection Control and Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS), areas where further practice change can be anticipated to reduce HAI rates.…”