EVIDENCE DEFINITIONS • Class I: Prospective randomized controlled trial. • Class II: Prospective clinical study or retrospective analysis of reliable data. Includes observational, cohort, prevalence, or case control studies. • Class III: Retrospective study. Includes database or registry reviews, large series of case reports, expert opinion. • Technology assessment: A technology study which doe...

INTRODUCTION Patients with severe traumatic brain injury are at a risk of developing ventilator-associated pneumonia. The aim of this study was to describe the incidence, etiology, risk factors for development of ventilator-associated pneumonia and outcome in patients with severe traumatic brain injury. MATERIAL AND METHODS A retrospective study was done in 72 patients with severe traumatic b...

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is the most frequent life-threatening nosocomial infection in intensive care units. The diagnostic is difficult because radiological and clinical signs are inaccurate and could be associated with various respiratory diseases. The concept of infection-related ventilator-associated complication has been proposed as a surrogate of VAP to be used as a benchmark...

A common foreign body of the nose in intensive care, the nasotracheal tube, has for 20 years been cited as a cause of bacterial infection of the paranasal sinus. High frequencies of bacterial culture positivity have occurred in several studies. However, the state of critically ill patients has to be evaluated before conclusions about cause of infection can be made. Nosocomial colonization with ...

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), which is usually defined as an infection occurring greater than 48 hours after hospital admission in a patient requiring mechanical ventilation, is an entity that should be viewed as a subcategory of health-care-associated pneumonia, which includes any patient who was hospitalized in an acute care hospital for 2 or more days within 90 days of the infection...

Introduction Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a common nosocomial infection in critically ill patients that is associated with poor clinical and economic outcomes, including longer duration of mechanical ventilation, longer ICU and hospital stay, increased mortality, and increased hospital charges [1–3]. It is the leading cause of death among nosocomial infections, exceeding rates of de...

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is the most frequent life-threatening nosocomial infection in intensive care units. The diagnostic is difficult because radiological and clinical signs are inaccurate and could be associated with various respiratory diseases. The concept of infection-related ventilator-associated complication has been proposed as a surrogate of VAP to be used as a benchmark...

Objectives; To assess the clinical and cost effectiveness of prophylactic antibiotics, body position, kinetic bed therapy and care bundles for the prevention of ventilator associated pneumonia. Data sources; Searches of main electronic databases were conducted in April and June 2007. Review methods; Systematic reviews and randomised controlled trials were included if they had the interventions ...

In this issue of the Journal, Heyland et al., writing for the Canadian Critical Care Trials Group, report the results of a multicenter, randomized trial comparing the use of bronchoalveolar lavage and endotracheal aspiration for the diagnosis of ventilator-associated pneumonia.1 This study was part of a larger 2-by-2 factorial design also comparing empirical antimicrobial monotherapy (a carbape...

OBJECTIVE To assess adherence to a ventilator care bundle in an intensive care unit and to determine the impact of adherence on the rates of ventilator-associated pneumonia. METHODS A total of 198 beds were assessed for 60 days using a checklist that consisted of the following items: bed head elevation to 30 to 45º; position of the humidifier filter; lack of fluid in the ventilator circuit; o...