Patterns of Airway Colonization in Ventilated Patients

Culture of upper-airway specimens may be useful in diagnosing suspected VAP because the responsible pathogens colonize the entire respiratory tract as a monoclonal population.

Bacterial colonization of the lower airways is common in mechanically ventilated patients. Differentiating between colonization and infection can be difficult. To explore this issue, researchers in Norway investigated airway-colonization patterns and dynamics in 74 critically ill, mechanically ventilated adults. Oropharyngeal swabs and tracheal and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) specimens were collected 48 hours after intubation and every 72 hours thereafter until the patient was extubated or a total of five sample sets had been collected.

Microbial findings were highly correlated both among the different sites and over time. Colonization with organisms typically found in the oropharynx (e.g., Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus pneumoniae) …

Reviewing Author

Thomas Glück, MD

Patterns of Airway Colonization in Ventilated Patients

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Reviewing Author