Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia in the Trauma Intensive Care Unit: Getting to Zero and Staying There

Abstract

Trauma patients have been shown to be at high risk of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), with an incidence estimated to reach 40-50%. Organisms present in the airway may spread into the lower respiratory tract at the time of injury or during emergent intubation, placing the patient at risk for early-onset pneumonia. VAP rates reported through the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) for Trauma Critical Care Units are 8.1 VAP per 1,000 ventilator days. As a Level 1 Trauma Center at a university medical center, the Trauma Intensive Care Unit (TICU) at our facility provides care to critically injured patients from a tri-State area.