DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2016.v04i03.061

Pages: 946-949

Patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) are at increase risk for dying not only from their critical illness but also from secondary processes such as nosocomial pneumonia. Pneumonia is most common infection in ICU compared with those in hospital wards and risk of pneumonia increases considerably in patients on mechanical ventilation were it termed as Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP).Ventilator-associated pneumonia represents a major health problem not only in terms of excess morbidity, mortality and personal distress but also contribute to significant economic loss. The incidence of VAP ranges from 10-65% depending on the definitions ,severity of illness ,type of patients studied, type of ICU/or hospital, prophylactic antibiotics administration, the techniques, and criteria used for diagnosis and can reach 78% in some specific settings or when lung infection is caused by high risk pathogens. The predominant organisms responsible for infection are Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacteriaceae, but etiologic agents widely differ according to the population of patients in an intensive care unit, duration of hospital stay, and prior antimicrobial therapy .Choosing appropriate therapy for VAP include knowledge of organisms likely to be present, local resistance patterns within the ICU, a rational antibiotic regimen, and a rationale for antibiotic de-escalation or stoppage.