Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Multicenter Study
. 2003 Jul;48(7):681-8.

Incidence and risk factors for ventilator-associated pneumonia in 4 multidisciplinary intensive care units in Athens, Greece

Eleni Apostolopoulou  1 , Petros Bakakos, Theophanis Katostaras, Leonides Gregorakos
Affiliations
  • PMID: 12841859
Free article
Multicenter Study

Incidence and risk factors for ventilator-associated pneumonia in 4 multidisciplinary intensive care units in Athens, Greece

Eleni Apostolopoulou et al. Respir Care. 2003 Jul.
Free article

Abstract

Introduction: Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is the most common nosocomial infection among intensive care unit (ICU) patients.

Objective: Prospectively identify the factors associated with development of VAP and examine the incidence of VAP.

Subjects: Over a 6-month period we had 175 patients who required mechanical ventilation for longer than 24 hours.

Results: VAP occurred in 56 patients (32%). Stepwise logistic regression analysis identified 5 factors independently associated with VAP (p < 0.05): bronchoscopy (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 2.95; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.1-8.3; p = 0.036); tube thoracostomy (AOR = 2.78; 95% CI, 1.1-6.6; p = 0.023); tracheostomy (AOR = 3.56; 95% CI, 1.7-8.4; p = 0.002); Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE II) score >/= 18 (AOR = 2.33; 95% CI, 1.1-5.1; p = 0.033); and enteral feeding (AOR = 2.89; 95% CI, 1.3-7.7; p = 0.026). The duration of mechanical ventilation was longer among patients who developed VAP (p < 0.001). VAP was not associated with the cause of ICU admission.

Conclusions: VAP is a common infection and certain interventions might affect the incidence of VAP. ICU clinicians should be aware of the risk factors for VAP, which could prove useful in identifying patients at high risk for VAP and modifying patient care to minimize the risk of VAP, such as avoiding unnecessary bronchoscopy or modulating enteral feeding.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources