Impact of Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia on mortality and outcome in medical ICU Patients

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine for Boys, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt

2 Clinical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt

Abstract

Background: When patients are intubated with mechanical ventilation (MV) for more than 48 hours, the most common hospital-acquired illness is ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP).
Aim and objectives: Patients in the medical ICU who need invasive MV for longer than 48 hours will be studied to determine the effect of VAP on mortality and outcomes.
Patients and methods: This study was conducted as an observational investigation at the medical ICU at Al-Azhar University hospitals from October 2023 to October 2024.
Results: Patients diagnosed with VAP had the highest mortality rate, and there was an extremely significant distinction among the groups. There was a statistically significant difference among the groups that were analyzed in terms of the distribution of age regarding mortality findings. The bulk of the non-surviving patients were older patients. The majority of patients who did not survive were found in patients with advanced Apache II scores, indicating a statistically significant distinction among the groups that were evaluated.
Conclusion: VAP is a significant challenge in ICUs, particularly for patients requiring MV for over 48 hours. It increases mortality rates, prolongs hospital stays, and increases healthcare costs. VAP also leads to complications like respiratory failure, sepsis, and multi-organ dysfunction. Preventive strategies like bundle interventions and strict infection control measures can reduce VAP incidence.

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