Strategies to Prevent Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia

In a decision model, use of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement VAP prevention bundle plus subglottic endotracheal suction and probiotics had the best cost-benefit ratio.

Mortality from ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) exceeds 10%. Many strategies to prevent this infection have been evaluated, but little is known about their comparative effectiveness. Such strategies include use of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) VAP prevention bundle, oral care with and without chlorhexidine, subglottic suction endotracheal tubes (ETs), silver-coated ETs, probiotics, and selective oral and gut decontamination.

Seeking to determine the most cost-effective VAP-prevention package from the points of view of the hospital and society, investigators developed a comparative effectiveness model: a decision tree that included 120 unique prevention-strategy combinations and simulated a 28-day period in the intensive…

Reviewing Author

Neil M. Ampel, MD

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Editorial BoardsUpToDate

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesCoccidioidomycosis Study Group (Past President, Secretary, Treasurer)

Neil M. Ampel, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsUpToDate

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesCoccidioidomycosis Study Group (Past President, Secretary, Treasurer)

Strategies to Prevent Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia

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Reviewing Author