Published in:
01-04-2012 | Editorial
Preventing ventilator-associated pneumonia: is it ultimately only a matter of gravity?
Author:
Ioannis Pneumatikos
Published in:
Intensive Care Medicine
|
Issue 4/2012
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Excerpt
Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is defined as pneumonia that develops 48 h or longer after initiation of mechanical ventilation via an endotracheal tube (ET). The incidence of VAP is high, ranging from 10 to 30%. VAP is associated with significantly increased morbidity and mortality, hospital length of stay, and costs [
1]. Prevention of VAP is therefore one of the foremost aims in mechanically ventilated critically ill patients. …