Does ventilator-associated tracheobronchitis need antibiotic treatment?
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* Corresponding author: Antonio Torres atorres@clinic.ub.es
1 Chairman, Department of Pulmonology and Critical Care, Hospital Clinic, IDIBAPS, Facultat de Medicina, Universitat de Barcelona, Red Gira and Red Respira, Barcelona, Spain
2 Critical Care Researcher, Department of Pulmonology and Critical Care, Hospital Clinic, IDIBAPS, Facultat de Medicina, Universitat de Barcelona, Red Gira and Red Respira, Barcelona, Spain
Critical Care 2005, 9:255-256 doi:10.1186/cc3535
See related research article http://ccforum.com/content/9/3/R238
Published: 3 May 2005Abstract
It is difficult to define ventilator-associated tracheobronchitis (VAT). The most accepted definition includes fever (temperature > 38°C), new or increased sputum production, a microbiologically positive respiratory sample with counts above the accepted thresholds and absence of pulmonary infiltrates on chest X-ray. Although we have no doubt that this pathologic process exists, the main controversy lies on whether this entity has any impact on the outcome and, thus, a specific therapeutic approach is suitable. We will discuss the strengths and drawbacks of the article on this topic published in this issue by Nseir et al.