Background: Pneumonia is a serious complication of mechanical ventilation in intensive care units (ICUs’) patients around the world. If it develops 48 hours after the start of ventilation, it’s called ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP).Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence and risk factors of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in Palestine.Settings: A prospective cohort study was conducted. It involved six intensive care units (ICUs) and one cardiac care unit (CCU) in six hospitals distributed in four cities in Palestine in a period of five months.
Participants: Patients who were ventilated for 48 hours or more.
Results: 134 patients were involved in the study. VAP was present in 29 patients (21.6%). Patients with VAP were more likely to have sepsis, neuromuscular disorders and chronic pulmonary obstructive disease (COPD), (P value: <0.001, 0.009 and 0.01), respectively.Conclusion: VAP represents a common problem in Palestine and should not be neglected. Its epidemiologic profile in terms of incidence, length of stay and clinical course resembles the general pattern described everywhere.

Title

Open Access Scientific Reports, Volume 2, Issue 2, 2013

Publisher

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Publisher Country

Palestine

Publication Type

Both (Printed and Online)

Volume

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Year

2013

Pages

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