Critical care clinicians' knowledge of evidence-based guidelines for preventing ventilator-associated pneumonia.
BACKGROUND
Ventilator-associated pneumonia is the most common hospital-acquired infection among patients receiving mechanical ventilation in an intensive care unit. Different initiatives for the prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia have been developed and recommended.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate knowledge of critical care providers (physicians, nurses, and respiratory therapists in the intensive care unit) about evidence-based guidelines for preventing ventilator-associated pneumonia.


METHODS
Ten physicians, 41 nurses, and 18 respiratory therapists working in the intensive care unit of a major tertiary care university hospital center completed an anonymous questionnaire on 9 nonpharmacological guidelines for prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia.


RESULTS
The mean (SD) total scores of physicians, nurses, and respiratory therapists were 80.2% (11.4%), 78.1% (10.6%), and 80.5% (6%), respectively, with no significant differences between them. Furthermore, within each category of health care professionals, the scores of professionals with less than 5 years of intensive care experience did not differ significantly from the scores of professionals with more than 5 years of intensive care experience.


CONCLUSIONS
A health care delivery model that includes physicians, nurses, and respiratory therapists in the intensive care unit can result in an adequate level of knowledge on evidence-based nonpharmacological guidelines for the prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia.
El-Khatib
Mohamad F
MF
Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
Zeineldine
Salah
S
Ayoub
Chakib
C
Husari
Ahmad
A
Bou-Khalil
Pierre K
PK
D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003422:Critical Care / Q000379:methods*; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine / Q000379:methods*; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D053717:Pneumonia, Ventilator-Associated / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires