Critical care nursing quarterly
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Nosocomial pneumonia (NP) is defined as pneumonia that develops within 48 hours or more of hospital admission and which was not developing at the time of admission. Nosocomial pneumonia, also known as hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP), is the second most common hospital infection, while ventilator-associated pneumonia represents the most common intensive care unit (ICU) infection. Nosocomial pneumonia significantly contributes to morbidity, mortality, and escalating healthcare costs because of increases in antibiotic prescription and administration, length of ICU stay, and length of hospital stay. ⋯ Accurate diagnosis of NP is difficult and controversial, warranting consideration for the application of invasive quantitative culture techniques over tracheal aspirates. Empiric antibiotic treatment should be prompt, starting on clinical suspicion, and based on local ICU pathogen epidemiology and antibiotic resistance patterns and on a deescalating antibiotic strategy. Innovative antibiotic strategies, such as antibiotic rotation, to help prevent the emergence of multi-drug-resistant pathogens and improve survival should be considered.
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Mechanical ventilation is the second most frequently performed therapeutic intervention after treatment for cardiac arrhythmias in intensive care units today. Countless lives have been saved with its use despite being associated with a greater than 30% in-hospital mortality rate. ⋯ Technological advances resulting in the availability of sleeker ventilators with graphic waveform displays and new modes of ventilation have challenged the bedside clinicians to incorporate this new data along with evidenced-based research into their daily practice. A review of current thoughts on mechanical ventilation and weaning is presented.