Loading...
Optimal outcomes in critically ill patients with nosocomial infections depend on rapid initiation of adequate antibiotic therapy. However, overly liberal use of broad-spectrum agents promotes resistance. Being able to predict the causative pathogens should be beneficial.
Researchers in Athens, Greece, retrospectively evaluated the effects of a surveillance-culture protocol — semiweekly tracheal-aspirate or pharyngeal-swab cultures and weekly rectal-swab cultures — on the adequacy of empirical antibiotic therapy for nosocomial infections. They analyzed data for ICU patients at their institution who developed ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) or bloodstream infections (BSIs) between November 2003 and December 2006 caused by resistant gram-…