Analysis of incidence and risk factors of ventilator associated pneumonia in different intensive care units: A multicenter prospective study

Abstract

Nosocomial pneumonia is the leading cause of death from hospital-acquired infections. The estimated prevalence of nosocomial pneumonia in intensive care units ranges from 10 to 65 percent, with fatality rates of 13 to 55 percent. This study aimed at estimating the magnitude of respiratory tract infections and the incidence of ventilator associated pneumonia in the intensive care units of Ain Shams University Hospitals (ASUH), and examine some of the risk factors that may be useful in predicting VAP in this group of patients, thereby improve the opportunities for future prevention of this disorder. Prospective research design was utilized, the study includes 1666 patients admitted to Intensive care units of Ain Shams University Hospitals. The results revealed that out of 650 patients required intubation 148 (22.8%) had VAP, 18.75% of them infected by staph aureus methicllin resistance. the study of risk factors revealed a mean mechanical ventilation days, enteral feeding days, and days of use H2 receptor antagonist were significantly greater among patients with VAP (p<0.001) than those without VAP, thus the study concluded that the incidence density was 8.5 per 1000 person-days of ventilation. The mean interval between admission to ICU and diagnosis of VAP was (8.4 ± 4.1) days. the recommendations of the study include emphasis on the formulation of the appropriate strategies to prevent VAP and the entire team of caregivers should work together to determine appropriate methods of counteracting each identified risk factor.