ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the efficacy of endotracheal lavage in neonatal ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Fifty-eight neonates with VAP between January 2002 and December 2008 were randomly assigned to two groups: lavage and control (n=29 each). After withdrawal from ventilator, both groups received sensitive antibiotics therapy according to sputum culture results as well as supportive treatment. The lavage group was additionally treated with endotracheal lavage (2-3 times daily). The therapeutic effects were compared between the two groups.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>There were no significant differences in the average time of mechanical ventilation between the lavage and the control groups. The effective rate in the lavage group (93%) was significantly higher than that in the control group (69%; p<0.05). Three percent of patients in the lavage group required twice or more mechanical ventilation compared with 24% in the control group (p<0.05). Blood gas analysis results were obviously improved in the lavage group 2 hrs after treatment (p<0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Endotracheal lavage can decrease the number in mechanical ventilation and improve therapeutic effects in neonates with VAP.</p>