Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia

An Overview of Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia (VAP)

The CDC’s National Nosocomial Infection Surveillance System (NNIS) reported that in 2002, the median rate of VAP per thousand ventilator-days in NNIS hospitals ranged from 2.2 in pediatric ICUs to 14.7 in trauma ICUs. In other reports, patients receiving continuous mechanical ventilation had 6-21 times the risk of developing hospital-associated pneumonia compared with patients who were not receiving mechanical ventilation. Because of this tremendous risk, in the last two decades, most of the research on hospital-associated pneumonia has been focused on VAP.

Surveillance Systems

• NHSN - National Healthcare Safety Network
  Publications and information about NHSN and reports from the NHSN System

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