Preventing Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia
Could Silver-Coated Endotracheal Tubes Be the Answer?
- Jean Chastre, MD
- Author Affiliations: Service de Réanimation Médicale, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France; Institut de Cardiologie, Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris.
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
- KEYWORDS:
- ANTIBACTERIAL AGENTS
- DRUG THERAPY
- INTENSIVE CARE UNITS
- INTUBATION, INTRATRACHEAL
- PNEUMONIA, VENTILATOR-ASSOCIATED
- PULMONARY DISEASE, CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE
- RESEARCH DESIGN
- RESPIRATION, ARTIFICIAL
- SILVER
Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is the intensive care unit (ICU)–associated infection most frequently acquired among patients receiving mechanical ventilation and is responsible for approximately 50% of all antibiotics prescribed in this setting.1,2,3 Because VAP has been associated with increased morbidity, longer hospital stays, increased health care costs, and higher mortality rates, prevention of this infection is a major challenge for all ICU personnel.1,2,4,5 Numerous preventive strategies have been tested, and updated recommendations have been published.6,7,8,9 However, evaluation of the effect of such interventions is a complex issue.
Three methodological difficulties limit the value of measuring the potential efficacy of strategies to prevent VAP. Specifically, these are difficulties in (1) obtaining an accurate diagnosis of VAP, because only patients who develop true VAP are likely to benefit from preventive measures; (2) precisely determining …
