For the last few decades, hospitals have taken the hospital-acquired infections seriously. Several hospitals have established infection tracking and surveillance systems in place, along with robust prevention strategies to reduce the rate of hospital-acquired infections. The impact of hospital-acquired infections is seen not just at an individual patient level, but also at the community level as they have been linked to multidrug-resistant infections. Identifying patients with risk factors for hospital-acquired infections and multidrug-resistant infections is very important in the prevention and minimization of these infections. 

 

So for there is scanty literature about prevalence, bacteriology, and antibiotic susceptibility pattern about VAP in India. Although mechanical ventilation (MV) is a life-saving intervention, it has its own potential complications. Newer antibiotics in the past decade have not brought down the mortality in the critical care facilities across the world, associated with VAP. The increasing incidence, mortality, MDR pathogens of VAP in Critical Care Units are the main challenges prompting for this study. The main concerns are to determine the prevalence, bacteriology, local antibiotic susceptibility, and resistance pattern including MDR isolates, risk factors, and outcome of VAP at a tertiary care institute.

As per CDC/NHSN guidelines ,

Pneumonia (PNEU) is identified by using a combination of imaging, clinical and laboratory criteria.

Ventilator: Any device used to support, assist, or control respiration (inclusive of the weaning period) through the application of positive pressure to the airway when delivered via an artificial airway, specifically an oral/nasal endotracheal or tracheostomy tube.

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP): A pneumonia where the patient is on mechanical ventilation for > 2 consecutive calendar days on the date of event, with day of ventilator placement being Day 1,*

AND

the ventilator was in place on the date of event or the day before.

*If the ventilator was in place prior to inpatient admission, the ventilator day count begins with the admission date to the first inpatient location.

If a break in mechanical ventilation occurs for at least one full calendar day, ventilator day count for ventilator association starts anew upon reintubation and/or re-initiation of mechanical ventilation.