Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia Among Cardiac Surgery Patients: What More Can We Do for Prevention?

PURPOSE: Despite extensive efforts and campaigns, infections continue to plague intensive care units. Ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) is associated with relatively high mortality and morbidity rates and significantly increases length of stay in the ICU. Furthermore VAP is now considered a non-reimbursable complication with an estimated cost per patient range of $11, 897-$150,841. The purpose of this study was to explore our cardiac surgery patient population to discern which clinical variables may be modifiable to reduce the number of patients who develop VAP despite rigid implementation of the VAP prevention bundle.