Can Respiratory Tract Cultures Predict VAP?

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is an important complication in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Current guidelines in the United States strongly recommend that surveillance be conducted for bacterial pneumonia in ICU patients, but diagnostic criteria have been criticized for the lack of sensitivity and specificity, especially regarding multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens. Brusselaers and investigators from Ghent University in Belgium performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the sensitivity and specificity of surveillance cultures in predicting pathogens in VAP. Their results were published in the March issue of Intensive Care Medicine...
Source: SCCM RSS News - Category: Intensive Care Source Type: news