Resp Care
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Rotational beds, prone position, and semi-recumbent position have been proposed as procedures to prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). Rotational therapy uses a special bed designed to turn continuously, or nearly continuously, the patient from side to side; specific designs include kinetic therapy and continuous lateral rotation therapy. A meta-analysis of studies evaluating the effect of rotational bed therapy shows a decrease in the risk of pneumonia but no effect on mortality. ⋯ One study reported a lower rate of VAP in patients randomized to semi-recumbent compared to supine position. Although each of the techniques discussed in this paper has been shown to reduce the risk of VAP, none has been shown to affect mortality. The available evidence suggests that semi-recumbent position should be used routinely, rotational therapy should be considered in selected patients, and prone position should not be used as a technique to reduce the risk of VAP.
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Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), which is usually defined as an infection occurring greater than 48 hours after hospital admission in a patient requiring mechanical ventilation, is an entity that should be viewed as a subcategory of health-care-associated pneumonia, which includes any patient who was hospitalized in an acute care hospital for 2 or more days within 90 days of the infection; resided in a nursing home or long-term care facility; received recent antibiotic therapy, chemotherapy, or wound care within the past 30 days of the current infection; or attended a hospital or hemodialysis clinic. VAP is the most frequent intensive-care-unit (ICU)-acquired infection among patients receiving mechanical ventilation. In contrast to infections of other frequently involved organs (eg, urinary tract and skin), for which mortality is low, the mortality rate for VAP ranges from 20% to 50% and can reach 70% in some specific settings or when lung infection is caused by high-risk pathogens and/or when initial antibiotic therapy is inappropriate. ⋯ Antimicrobial therapy of patients with VAP should follow a 2-stage process. The first stage involves administering broad-spectrum antibiotics to avoid inappropriate treatment in patients with true bacterial pneumonia. The second stage focuses on trying to achieve this objective without over-using and abusing antibiotics, combining a number of different steps, such as stopping therapy in patients with a low probability of the disease, streamlining treatment once the etiologic agent is known, switching to monotherapy after days 3-5, and shortening duration of therapy to 7-8 days, as dictated by the patient's clinical response to therapy and information about the bacteriology of the infection.
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Ventilator management strategies can affect the risk for ventilator-associated pneumonia in 3 ways: the development of ventilator-induced lung injury; the need for potentially harmful tradeoffs in providing lung-protective ventilatory strategies; and the prolongation of the duration of mechanical ventilation from iatrogenic factors. Strategies to reduce ventilator-induced lung injury include a smaller tidal volume and careful attention to reducing the maximum pressures in the lung. ⋯ However, the weight of evidence suggests that beneficial outcomes from lung-protective strategies outweigh any potential harm from these tradeoffs. Finally, properly performed weaning protocols based on clinical evidence should reduce any iatrogenic delays in ventilator weaning and thereby minimize prolongation of unneeded mechanical ventilatory support.
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There has long been a controversy about whether to use a clinical or microbiologic approach to diagnose ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) and about which approach to use in managing patients. Although the clinical approach has often been criticized, a number of recent studies have shown that it is possible to use such an approach to effectively manage patients. This approach involves using all available clinical data to define the presence of pneumonia and then to initiate empiric therapy in a timely fashion, based on therapy guidelines, modified by local microbiologic data. ⋯ Based on this assessment, in conjunction with the results of tracheal aspirate cultures, therapy can be either modified or continued. A number of studies have shown that the clinical approach leads to a large number of patients receiving adequate empiric therapy, while still permitting de-escalation of antibiotic regimens, along with short durations of therapy. Thus a clinical approach to management can be successful in allowing for effective management of VAP, without promoting the unnecessary use of broad-spectrum antimicrobial therapy.
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Hospital-associated pneumonia (HAP) is one of the most common infections acquired among hospitalized patients. HAP is associated with excess mortality and increased medical care costs. The rise in HAP due to antibiotic-resistant bacteria has resulted in more common administration of inappropriate antimicrobial treatment, with an associated increased risk of hospital mortality. ⋯ Physicians treating patients with HAP and VAP should be aware of the predominant local pathogens associated with these infections and their antimicrobial susceptibility patterns. This will allow more appropriate initial antibiotic selection in order to optimize treatment regimens and clinical outcomes. Additionally, clinical strategies aimed at the prevention of HAP and VAP should be employed in all hospital settings caring for patients at risk for these infections.