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- Nosocomial pneumonia is a leading cause of death from hospital-acquired infections, with an associated crude mortality rate of approximately 30 percent. Ventilator-associated pneumonia refers specifically to nosocomial bacterial pneumonia that has developed in patients who are receiving mechanical ventilation. Ventilator-associated pneumonia that occurs within 48 to 72 hours after tracheal intubation is usually termed early-onset pneumonia; it often results from aspiration, which complicates the intubation process. Ventilator-associated pneumonia that occurs after this period is considered late-onset pneumonia.
- Intensive care unit (ICU) patients, due to their critical illnesses and compromised immunity, are at high risk for healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). The overall infection rate in critically ill patients approaches 40%, as reported by Girou et al., and may be as high as 50% or 60% in patients who remain in the ICU for more than 5 days, as discussed in a study conducted by Bueno-Cavanillas et al.
- Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is defined as nosocomial pneumonia in a patient on mechanical ventilatory support (by endotracheal tube or tracheostomy) for >48 hours. For many years, VAP has been diagnosed by the clinical criteria published by Johanson et al. in 1972, which include the appearance of a new or progressive pulmonary infiltrate, fever, leukocytosis, and purulent tracheobronchial secretions; however, these criteria are nonspecific.
- Pneumonia has accounted for approximately 15% of all hospital-associated infections and 27% and 24% of all infections acquired in the medical intensive-care unit (ICU) and coronary care unit, respectively. It has been the second most common hospital-associated infection after that of the urinary tract. The primary risk factor for the development of hospital-associated bacterial pneumonia is mechanical ventilation (with its requisite endotracheal intubation).
- Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a sub-type of hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) which occurs in people who are on mechanical ventilation through an endotracheal or tracheostomy tube for at least 48 hours. VAP is a medical condition that results from infection which floods the small, air-filled sacs (alveoli) in the lung responsible for absorbing oxygen from the atmosphere. VAP is distinguished from other kinds of infectious pneumonia because of the different types of microorganisms responsible, antibiotics used to treat, methods of diagnosis, ultimate prognosis, and effective preventive measures.
