Abstract:
BACKGROUND:
Ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) is among the most prevalent illnesses that are
acquired in hospitals. VAP develops in about 10% of patients who need mechanical breathing,
with a 20–50% fatality rate world wide. In India, the incidence has been estimated to be
around 27%. VAP is defined as pneumonia or infection in lung parenchyma acquired in
patients after invasive mechanical ventilation after 48–72 hours. It is associated with high
morbidity, mortality, prolonged hospital stay, and cost of treatment. The indications for
mechanical ventilation could be due to pulmonary or non-pulmonary causes like, acute
hypoxemic respiratory failure, hypoventilation, hemodynamic compromise, cardiorespiratory
arrest, stroke, traumatic brain injury, and the incidence of VAP in these conditions differs
accordingly. There are various scores available for early diagnosis of VAP and to predict the
outcomes and mortality of the patients on mechanical ventilation. While the Clinical
Pulmonary Infection Score (CPIS) aids in diagnosis of VAP, Sequential organ function
assessment (SOFA) score is a widely used tool for predicting mortality in septic ICU patients,
whereas Acute physiology and chronic health evaluation (APACHE II) score predicts the
outcome and duration of Mechanical ventilation
