Staffing level: a determinant of late-onset ventilator-associated pneumonia
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Correspondence: Jeannie P Cimiotti jcimiott@nursing.upenn.edu
University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-6096, USA
Critical Care 2007, 11:154 doi:10.1186/cc6085
Published: 8 August 2007Abstract
A body of knowledge exists to suggest an association between nurse staffing and adverse patient outcomes. Hugonnet and colleagues add further evidence by linking nurse staffing to late-onset ventilator-associated pneumonia. Discussed are a number of concerns surrounding the analytic component of this study, including the construction of variables and the statistical models. The authors' estimation that hospitals maintaining a nurse-to-patient ratio above 2.2 could decrease the risk of health care associated infections is based on findings that are potentially biased and unrealistic.