Guidelines for preventing health-care-associated pneumonia

Because of the high morbidity and mortality associated with health-care-associated pneumonia, it is important to implement evidence-based prevention measures. Recently by CDC published Guidelines for Preventing Health-Care-Associated Pneumonia describe prevention measures based on evaluated studies, randomized controlled trials or meta-analyses. In this paper the most important prevention measures are given, as well as the evidence classification. "Among the changes in the recommendations to prevent bacterial pneumonia, especially ventilator-associated pneumonia, are the preferential use of or tracheal rather than naso-tracheal tubes in patients who receive mechanically assisted ventilation, the use of noninvasive ventilation to reduce the need for and duration of endotracheal intubation, changing the breathing circuits of ventilators when they malfunction or are visibly contaminated, and (when feasible) the use of an endotracheal tube with a dorsal lumen to allow drainage of respiratory secretions."

Published by Anasthesiologie, Intensivmedizin, Notfallmedizin, Schmerztherapie : AINS, 2005. The guideline itself is at the source linked here.

doi.org/10.1055/s-2004-825929