Incidence and outcome of ventilator-associated pneumonia in Inkosi Albert Luthuli and King Edward VIII Hospital surgical intensive care units

Background. Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is one of the most common causes of hospital morbidity and mortality, but has been poorly studied in the South African context. Objective. To evaluate the incidence and outcome of VAP in the intensive care units (ICUs) of two major centres in the Durban metropolitan area. Methods. The study was conducted over a period of 6 months with all intubated and mechanically ventilated patients who were screened on admission to ICU. A questionnaire was prepared to note patients’ age, gender, date and time of intubation or reintubation. Patients were monitored from date of admission to the date of discharge from ICU or death. A diagnosis of VAP was made on a clinical pulmonary infection score (CPIS) of ≥6. Results. Of 32 patients evaluated, eight patients (25%) were diagnosed with VAP. Median duration of ventilation in the VAP group was 249 hours v. 65.5 hours in the non-VAP group (p=0.0002). We found no statistically significant association between age or gender with the development of VAP (p=0.28 and p=0.59, respectively). The most common organism isolated was Acinetobacter baumannii, followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Three of the eight (37.5%) patients diagnosed with VAP died in the ICU. Conclusion. VAP is common in critically ill patients, possibly associated with poor outcome. These results highlight the need for strict adherence to evidence-based preventive measures.