Background: Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a common complication in intensive care patients. Patients are most likely to be affected after abdominal and thoracic surgery.
Methods: The aim of the study was to analyze the epidemiology and aetiology of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) following coronary artery surgery. Suspected cases were detected by the hospital Infection Control Team, in cooperation with ward personnel, and in accordance with CDC definitions.
Results: Fifty-three VAP cases were detected among 2,170 cardiac surgery patients. The ventilator utilization rate was 52%.The total cumulative VAP incidence was 2.2%, and the ventilator-associated pneumonia rate was 18.3/1,000 ventilator days, with a mortality of 1.9%.The most common isolates were Gram negative bacteria (P aeruginosa--10.4%, E. coli--12.5%, Klebsiella pneumoniae--16.7%) and Candida albicans.
Conclusions: The incidence of VAP was similar to those reported in NHSN and KISS programs, however the data on the epidemiology of VAP were different. There were also differences in both the epidemiology and microbiology of VAP in this hospital, compared with results reported from other cardiac centres. This indicates the necessity of introducing an effective detection system for hospital acquired pneumonia after cardiac surgery.