title: Ventilator-associated pneumonia among elderly Medicare beneficiaries in long-term care hospitals.
abstract: Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a complication of ventilator care that produces excess, avoidable resource use and treatment costs. Control of VAP is an important aspect of quality of care improvement for long-term care hospitals (LTCHs) since they provide post-acute ventilator care for many Medicare beneficiaries. Data for Medicare patients discharged from LTCHs during CY 2004 who received continuous mechanical ventilation are examined (N=13,759). Nearly 25% of Medicare LTCH ventilator patients acquired VARP Despite having lower mortality and less co-morbidity than non-VAP patients, length of stay (LOS) and total charges were both higher for VAP patients. Some of this excess is avoidable.
authors.affiliation: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, ORDI, Baltimore, MD 21244-1850, USA. WBuczko@cms.hhs.gov
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Buczko
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015897:Comorbidity; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000191:economics; D008134:Long-Term Care; D008297:Male; D006278:Medicare; D008875:Middle Aged; D053717:Pneumonia, Ventilator-Associated / Q000191:economics* / Q000401:mortality; D013534:Survival; D014481:United States