Surveillance of preventive measures for ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) and its rate in Makkah Region hospitals, Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND/AIM The present study aimed to assess the VAP rate and to identify VAP prevention activities in public sector hospitals situated in the Makkah Region, Saudi Arabia (SA). MATERIALS AND METHODS In this cross-sectional study, the VAP data from 13 public sector hospitals were collected from January to December 2013 and analyzed using SPSS 16. RESULTS The overall VAP rate in Makkah Region hospitals was 6.89 cases per 1000 ventilator-days. There was a significant difference in VAP rate among the hospitals of the Makkah Region (P < 0.001). There was no significant difference in the VAP rate among hospitals, which were using only one, two, or all three VAP preventive approaches (P = 0.26) accredited by the Joint Commission International (JCI) and Central Board for Accreditation of Health Care Institution (CBAHI) (P = 0.12), and using the form in intensive care units (ICUs) (P = 0.85). There was a significant difference in the VAP rate among hospitals having different bed capacities (P < 0.001), data regularly collected (P = 0.03), and had a team to supervise the VAP project (P = 0.04). CONCLUSION The VAP rate in Makkah Region hospitals is 6.89 cases per 1000 ventilator-days.