Review
Novel preventive strategies for ventilator-associated pneumonia
1 Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, San Gerardo Hospital, Via Pergolesi 33, 20052 Monza, Italy
2 Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit St, Boston, MA 02114, USA
Critical Care 2012, 16:210 doi:10.1186/cc11225
Published: 20 March 2012First paragraph (this article has no abstract)
Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a complication of mechanical ventilation and is defined as the occurrence of pneumonia in patients undergoing mechanical ventilation for at least 48 hours. Clinical suspicion of VAP arises when new infiltrates are present on chest x-ray, and at least one of the following is present: Fever, leukocytosis, or purulent tracheo-bronchial secretions.
