title: Ventilator-associated complications, including infection-related complications: the way forward.
abstract: Acute respiratory failure represents the most common condition requiring admission to an adult intensive care unit. Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) has been used as a marker of quality for patients with respiratory failure. Hospital-based process-improvement initiatives to prevent VAP have been successfully used. The use of ventilator-associated complications (VACs) has been proposed as an objective marker to assess the quality of care for this patient population. The use of evidence-based bundles targeting the reduction of VACs, as well as the conduct of prospective studies showing that VACs are preventable complications, are reasonable first-steps in addressing this important clinical problem.
authors.affiliation: Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO 63110, USA. mkollef@dom.wustl.edu
authors.forename: Marin H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Kollef
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000191:economics / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D055317:Evidence-Based Practice / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units / Q000592:standards; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D053717:Pneumonia, Ventilator-Associated / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care; D012122:Ventilators, Mechanical / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000592:standards