Nosocomial Pneumonia In Ventilated Patients Research Articles

Decrease in nosocomial pneumonia in ventilated patients by selective oropharyngeal decontamination (SOD)

To determine the influence of selective oropharyngeal decontamination (SOD) on the rate of colonization and infection of the respiratory tract in intensive care patients requiring mechanical ventilation for more than 4 days. A financial assessment was also performed. Randomized, prospective, controlled study using amphotericin B, colistin sulfate (polymyxin E), and tobramycin applied to the oropharynx and systemic cefotaxime prophylaxis. Anesthesiology intensive care unit (ICU) of a 1500-bed hospital. A total of 88 patients admitted as emergencies and intubated within less than 24 h were enrolled. Fifty-eight patients received SOD and 30 patients served as controls. Randomization was in the proportion of 2 : 1 study patients to controls. Microbiological samples from the oropharynx and other infected sites were taken at the time of admission, then twice a week and after extubation. With the use of SOD, colonization was significantly reduced. Furthermore, the infection rate decreased from 77% in the controls to 22% in the study patients. Staphylococcus aureus was the main potential pathogen causing colonization and pneumonia. Number of days in the ICU, duration of ventilation, and mortality were not significantly decreased. The total cost of antibiotics was reduced. Development of resistance was not observed. The use of SOD significantly reduced the colonization and pneumonia and the total charge for antibiotics. The length of stay in the ICU, duration of ventilation, and mortality were similar. No resistance was observed. Staphylococcus aureus was selected by SOD in some patients and the clinical relevance needs further observation.

Usefulness of Airway Visualization in the Diagnosis of Nosocomial Pneumonia in Ventilated Patients

Clinical diagnosis of nosocomial pneumonia in ventilated patients remains a challenge in the ICU as none of the clinical biological and radiologic parameters can predict its diagnosis. To our knowledge, however, the accuracy of direct visualization of the bronchial tree has never been investigated. To evaluate the interest of airway visualization and to select independent parameters that predict nosocomial pneumonia in ventilated patients. A ten-bed medical-surgical ICU. All consecutive patients suspected of having nosocomial pneumonia who underwent bronchoscopy with protected specimen brush, culture examination of BAL, and direct examination of BAL were studied. Clinical and biological data and airways findings were recorded prospectively. Patients were classified as having pneumonia or not according to the results of distal bacteriologic samples, follow-up, and histologic study. Respective accuracies of each variable were calculated using univariate analysis and stepwise logistic regression. Ninety-one patients with suspected nosocomial pneumonia were studied. Patients were randomly assigned to a construction group (n = 46) and a validation group (n = 45). Using multivariate analysis, 3 factors were associated with pneumonia (a decrease in PaO2/fraction of inspired oxygen ratio > or = 50 mm Hg, odds ratio [OR] = 9.97, p = 0.026; the presence of distal purulent secretions, OR = 7.46, p = 0.044; the persistence of distal secretions surging from distal bronchi during exhalation, OR = 12.25, p = 0.013). These three factors remained associated with pneumonia in the validation group. Interobserver repeatability of the bronchoscopic parameters was good. Having 2 or more of these 3 independent factors was able to predict pneumonia with a 94% sensitivity and a 89% specificity in the construction group and with a 78% sensitivity and a 89% specificity in the validation group. We conclude that direct visualization of the bronchial tree can immediately and accurately predict nosocomial pneumonia in ventilated patients before obtaining definite results of protected samples.

Mortality of nosocomial pneumonia in ventilated patients: influence of diagnostic tools.

The overmortality induced by nosocomial infections, especially pneumonia in ventilated patients (VNP), is still a matter of controversy because it is difficult to know precisely the respective effects of VNP per se and both the underlying illness and the severity of the disease that indicates ICU stay. During a 3-yr period, for each patient mechanically ventilated for more than 48 h we recorded underlying illness, reason for mechanical ventilation, clinical and therapeutic data collected during the first 48 h of ventilation, and death in the ICU. Patients with suspicion of VNP (S-VNP) according to clinical, radiologic, and biologic criteria underwent bronchoscopy with protected specimen brush (PSB) and bronchoalveolar lavage culture (BAL-C). VNP was confirmed (C-VNP) if PSB > or = 10(3) cfu/ml and/or BAL-C > or = 10(4) cfu/ml. Prognostic multivariate analysis was performed introducing S-VNP and C-VNP as time-dependent covariates. Of the 387 studied patients, 112 S-VNP and 56 C-VNP were observed with overall mortality of 43% (168 patients). MacCabe, APACHE II score, shock, use of sedatives and absence of enteral nutrition were additively associated with an increased mortality as well as C-VNP (relative risk [RR]: 1.8, p = 0.007). Nevertheless, when S-VNP and C-VNP were simultaneously introduced in the Cox model, only S-VNP remained associated with increased mortality. In patients suspected of VNP, confirmation of VNP using PSB and/or BAL-C adds no prognostic information. Whether this could be explained by the lack of sensitivity of protected distal samples or the severity of underlying conditions of S-VNP patients is still an open issue. A multivariate analysis based on follow-up data during the ICU course of ventilated patients will be initiated in the near future.

Diagnosis of Infections in Intensive-Care Unit Patients

Fever is a frequent and nonspecific symptom after surgery. If appropriate cutoff values are chosen, C-reactive protein and interleukin-6 are useful parameters of infection in febrile postoperative intensive-care unit patients. The diagnostic workup of febrile critically ill patients should be guided by the underlying condition of the patient, and the clinical suspicion of a specific infection. For the diagnosis of intravascular catheter-related infections, a (semi)quantitative culture method should be used. There is no consensus about the ideal method to diagnose nosocomial pneumonia in ventilated patients. The best documented options are quantitative cultures of a protected specimen brush sample and of the bronchoalveolar lavage.

Nosocomial pneumonia in ventilated patients: A cohort study evaluating attributable mortality and hospital stay

purpose: Although nosocomial pneumonia is a common problem in intubated and ventilated patients, previous studies have not clearly demonstrated that nosocomial pneumonia actually results in increased mortality or prolongs hospitalisation of these patients. In an attempt to answer these questions, we have performed a cohort study in which patients who developed nosocomial pneumonia and control subjects were carefully matched for the severity of underlying illness and other important variables. patients and methods: Case patients were 48 ventilated patients with nosocomial pneumonia identified on the basis of results of protected specimen brush quantitative culture and identification of intracellular organisms in cells recovered by bronchoalveolar lavage. For matching cases and their respective controls, the following variables were used: age (± 5 years), Simplified Acute Physiologic Score (± 3 points), indication for ventilatory support, date of admission, and duration of exposure to risk. results: Successful matching was achieved for 222 of 240 (92.5%) variables. The mortality rate in cases was 26 of 48 (54.2%) compared with 13 of 48 (27.1%) in controls. The attributable mortality was 27.1% (95% confidence interval [CI], 8.3% to 45.9%; p < 0.01) and the risk ratio for death was 2.0 (95% CI, 1.61 to 2.49). The mean length of stay was 34 days for cases and 21 days for controls (p < 0.02). In the case of pneumonia due to Pseudomonas or Acinetobacter species, the mortality rate was 71.4%, the attributable mortality was 42.8% (95% CI, 14.5% to 69.0%), and the risk ratio was 2.50 (95% CI, 1.31 to 4.61). conclusion: Pneumonias occurring in ventilated patients, especially those due to Pseudomonas or Acinetobacter species, are associated with considerable mortality in excess of that resulting from the underlying disease alone, and significantly prolong the length of stay in the intensive care unit.

Evaluation of Clinical Judgment in the Identification and Treatment of Nosocomial Pneumonia in Ventilated Patients

To evaluate the accuracy of clinical judgment in the diagnosis and treatment of nosocomial pneumonia in ventilated patients, we studied 84 patients suspected of having nosocomial pneumonia because of the presence of a new pulmonary infiltrate and purulent tracheal secretions. We prospectively evaluated the accuracy of diagnostic predictions and therapeutic plans independently formulated by a team of physicians aware of all clinical, radiologic and laboratory data, including the results of Gram-stained bronchial aspirates. Definite (n = 51) or probable (n = 33) diagnoses could be established in all patients by strict histopathologic and/or bacteriologic criteria. Only 27/84 patients were diagnosed as having pneumonia. Organisms responsible for pneumonias were identified by quantitative cultures of samples obtained using a protected specimen brush or pleural fluid cultures. Four hundred eight predictions were made for the 84 studied patients. Clinical diagnoses for patients subsequently diagnosed as having pneumonia were accurate in 81/131 cases (62 percent). Furthermore, only 43/131 (33 percent) therapeutic plans proposed for these patients represented effective therapy. Common causes of inappropriate treatment included failure to diagnose pneumonia (50 plans), failure to effectively treat highly resistant organisms (21 plans), and failure to treat all organisms in cases of polymicrobial pneumonia (14 plans). Therapeutic plans formulated for patients without pneumonia included the unnecessary use of antibiotics in 45/277 cases (16 percent). These findings indicate that the use of clinical criteria alone does not permit the accurate diagnosis of nosocomial pneumonia in ventilated patients, and commonly results in inappropriate or inadequate antibiotic therapy for these patients.

Bronchoscopy in the intensive care unit.

The development of the flexible, fiberoptic bronchoscope has made bronchoscopic examinations possible in ICU patients undergoing mechanical ventilation. Over the years, the number of such procedures has greatly increased, with both diagnostic and therapeutic objectives, such as performing difficult intubation, management of atelectasis and hemoptysis, diagnosis of nosocomial pneumonia in ventilated patients, and early detection of airway lesions in selected situations, such as high-frequency ventilation. The complication rate can be kept low if the endoscopist has a precise knowledge of the many pathophysiological and technical facets particular to bronchoscopy under these difficult conditions. This article reviews some of these aspects, in the light of our personal experience.

Natural history and pathophysiology of nosocomial pneumonia in ventilated patients

Natural history and pathophysiology of nosocomial pneumonia in ventilated patients