title: Clinical and economic consequences of ventilator-associated pneumonia.
abstract: Increasing drug resistance rates among gram-negative pathogens that frequently cause ventilator-associated pneumonia have resulted in increased hospital mortality, longer hospital stays, and higher inpatient health care costs. There is an urgent need for effective therapies that lessen the clinical and economic consequences of this nosocomial infection. In a randomized, multicenter, prospective, phase 3 trial, medical resource use associated with doripenem was compared with that associated with imipenem for the treatment of ventilator-associated pneumonia. Analysis of medical resource use revealed that patients who received doripenem had a significantly shorter duration of hospital stay (22 vs. 27 days; P = .01)and duration of mechanical ventilation use (7 vs. 10 days; P = .03) than did patients who received imipenem. In addition, the duration of intensive care unit stay tended to be shorter for patients who received doripenem. The reduced medical resource use achieved with use of doripenem for treatment of ventilator-associated pneumonia may provide not only clinical benefits to patients but also economic benefits to hospitals and health care systems.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of California-Irvine, 101 The City Drive, Orange, CA 92868, USA. anamin@uci.edu
authors.forename: Alpesh
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Amin
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000191:economics* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015780:Carbapenems / Q000191:economics* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000191:economics* / Q000401:mortality; D000077726:Doripenem; D017048:Health Care Costs; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006801:Humans; D015378:Imipenem / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000191:economics*; D053717:Pneumonia, Ventilator-Associated / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000191:economics* / Q000401:mortality; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000187:drug effects; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D015780:Carbapenems; D015378:Imipenem; D000077726:Doripenem