Treatment
Treatment of VAP should be matched to known causative bacteria. However, when VAP is first suspected, the bacteria causing infection is typically not known and broad-spectrum antibiotics are given (empiric therapy) until the particular bacterium and its sensitivities are determined. Empiric antibiotics should take into account both the risk factors a particular individual has for resistant bacteria as well as the local prevalence of resistant microorganisms. If a person has previously had episodes of pneumonia, information may be available about prior causative bacteria. The choice of initial therapy is therefore entirely dependent on knowledge of local flora and will vary from hospital to hospital.
Risk factors for infection with an MDR strain include ventilation for more than five days, recent hospitalization (last 90 days), residence in a nursing home, treatment in a hemodialysis clinic, and prior antibiotic use (last 90 days).
Possible empirical therapy combinations include (but are not limited to):
- vancomycin/linezolid and ciprofloxacin,
- cefepime and gentamicin/amikacin/tobramycin
- vancomycin/linezolid and ceftazidime
- Ureidopenicillin plus β-lactamase inhibitor such as piperacillin/tazobactam or ticarcillin/clavulanate
- a carbapenem (e.g., imipenem or meropenem)
Therapy is typically changed once the causative bacteria are known and continued until symptoms resolve (often 7 to 14 days). For patients with VAP not caused by nonfermenting Gram-negative bacilli (like Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas aeruginosa) the available evidence seems to support the use of short-course antimicrobial treatments (< or =10 days).
People who do not have risk factors for MDR organisms may be treated differently depending on local knowledge of prevalent bacteria. Appropriate antibiotics may include ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, or ampicillin/sulbactam.
As of 2005, there is ongoing research into inhaled antibiotics as an adjunct to conventional therapy. Tobramycin and polymyxin B are commonly used in certain centres but there is no clinical evidence to support their use.
Read more about this topic: Ventilator-associated Pneumonia
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