title: Acute lung injury and bacterial infection.
abstract: The relationships between acute lung injury and bacterial infection are complex. Indeed, sepsis and in particular pneumonia are leading causes of acute lung injury. Bacterial superinfection of the lung is a frequent complication of acute lung injury. Because of impaired host defenses and prolonged mechanical ventilation, more than one third of patients with the acute respiratory distress syndrome acquire ventilator-associated pneumonia, with resistant pathogens in most instances. This complication is responsible for more than a doubling of the time on mechanical ventilation but does not seem to increase mortality.
authors.affiliation: Service de Réanimation Médicale, Hôpital Louis Mourier, Assistance Publique--Hôpitaux de Paris, Colombes 92700, France. didier.dreyfuss@lmr.ap.hop-paris.fr
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dreyfuss
authors.forename: Jean-Damien
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Ricard
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D018410:Pneumonia, Bacterial / Q000209:etiology* / Q000401:mortality; D012121:Respiration, Artificial / Q000009:adverse effects*; D012128:Respiratory Distress Syndrome / Q000150:complications* / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy; D012307:Risk Factors; D015163:Superinfection / Q000276:immunology; D012122:Ventilators, Mechanical / Q000009:adverse effects*