American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine
-
Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Sep 1998
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical TrialEffectiveness and cost of selective decontamination of the digestive tract in critically ill intubated patients. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial.
We evaluated the effect of selective decontamination of the digestive tract (SDD) on the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) and its associated morbidity and cost in a mixed population of intubated patients. Two hundred seventy-one consecutive patients admitted to the intensive care units (ICUs) of five teaching hospitals and who had an expected need for intubation exceeding 48 h were enrolled and received topical antibiotics or placebo. Uninfected patients additionally received ceftriaxone or placebo for 3 d. ⋯ In decontaminated patients, the prevalence of gram-negative bacilli fell within 7 d from 47.4% to 13.0% (p < 0.001), whereas colonization with resistant gram-positive strains was higher (p < 0. 05) than in the placebo group. In a mixed population of intubated patients, SDD was associated with a significant reduction of morbidity at a reduced cost. Our findings support the use of SDD in this high-risk group.