title: Rapid and reproducible surveillance for ventilator-associated pneumonia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The complexity and subjectivity of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) surveillance limit its value in assessing and comparing quality of care for ventilated patients. A simpler, more quantitative VAP definition may increase utility.
  
  
  METHODS
  We streamlined the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention definition of VAP to increase objectivity and efficiency. Qualitative criteria were replaced with quantitative criteria, and changes in ventilator settings were used to screen patients for worsening oxygenation. We retrospectively compared surveillance time, reproducibility, and outcomes for streamlined versus conventional surveillance among medical and surgical patients on mechanical ventilation in 3 university hospitals.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Application of the streamlined definition was faster (mean 3.5 minutes vs 39.0 minutes per patient) and more objective (interrater reliability κ 0.79 vs 0.45) than the conventional definition. On multivariate analysis, the streamlined definition predicted increases in ventilator days (6.5 days [95% CI, 4.1-10.0] vs 6.4 days [95% CI, 4.7-8.6]), intensive care days (5.6 days [95% CI, 3.2-8.9] vs 6.2 days [95% CI, 4.6-8.2]), and hospital mortality (odds ratio [OR] 0.84 [95% CI, 0.31-2.29] vs OR 0.69 [95% CI, 0.30-1.55]) as effectively as conventional surveillance. The conventional definition was a marginally superior predictor of increased hospital days (5.2 days [95% CI, 3.4-7.6] vs 2.1 days [95% CI, -0.5-5.6]).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A streamlined version of the VAP definition was faster, more objective, and predicted patients' outcomes almost as effectively as the conventional definition. VAP surveillance using the streamlined method may facilitate more objective and efficient quality assessment for ventilated patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA. mklompas@partners.org
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Klompas
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kleinman
authors.forename: Yosef
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: R Scott
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.forename: James F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Lloyd
authors.forename: Kurt
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Stevenson
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Samore
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Platt
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002487:Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S.; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D000860:Hypoxia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D053717:Pneumonia, Ventilator-Associated / Q000175:diagnosis*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014481:United States