Applicability of the National Healthcare Safety Network's surveillance definition of ventilator-associated events in the surgical intensive care unit: a 1-year review.

BACKGROUND: In 2012, the National Healthcare Safety Network presented a new surveillance definition for ventilator-associated events (VAEs) to objectively define worsening pulmonary status in ventilated patients. VAE subcategories, ventilator-associated condition (VAC), infection-related VAC, and probable ventilator-associated pneumonia (PrVAP), were vetted predominantly in medical intensive care units. Our goal was to evaluate how well VAE criteria characterize pulmonary complications in surgical intensive care unit (SICU) patients. METHODS: Since September 2012, all intubated SICU patients were screened prospectively for VAE and monitored for sustained respiratory dysfunction that did not meet VAE criteria. We diagnosed ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) using a clinical definition: Clinical Pulmonary Infection Score (CPIS) greater than 6 and catheter-directed bronchoalveolar lavage cultures with 10 or more colony-forming units per milliliter of pathogenic organisms. RESULTS: We admitted 704 intubated patients. A total of 437 were intubated for two or more days (mean [SD], age 46 [18] years; 65% male; median ventilator days, 4 [range, 2-9]; median Sequential Organ Failure Assessment [SOFA] score, 8 [range, 5-10]). Using VAE criteria, we identified 37 patients with VAC, 31 with infection-related VAC, and 22 with PrVAP. While the remaining 400 patients did not meet VAE criteria, we identified 111 patients (28%) with respiratory deterioration and diagnosed 99 additional pneumonias. Of the 111 patients, 85 (77%) never had a period of stable/decreasing oxygenation, requiring elevated vent settings upon initiation of ventilation preventing them from meeting VAE criteria. Of the 99 pneumonia patients, 10% had sustained respiratory deterioration treated with elevations in mean airway pressure; they did not meet VAE criteria as the positive end-expiratory pressure or FIO2 was not elevated. Twenty-seven percent never had a period of stable/decreasing oxygenation. Fifty-eight percent had less than 2 days of respiratory deterioration. Agreement between PrVAP and clinical VAP was 77.3% (κ = 0.243, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The applicability of the new National Healthcare Safety Network categories of VAE to critically ill surgery patients is limited. Agreement between PrVAP and clinical VAP in SICU patients is poor. Most surgical patients are not well categorized by this new definition; a better method of surveillance should be created for this patient population. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Diagnostic study, level III.

Guiding the management of intubated patients with pneumonia and ventilator-associated events using serial catheter-directed bronchoalveolar lavage.

BACKGROUND: We evaluated the role of serial catheter-directed bronchoalveolar lavage (CDBAL) in the diagnosis and management of pneumonia in ventilated surgical intensive care unit patients. METHODS: Intubated surgical intensive care unit patients were prospectively evaluated with serial CDBALs from September 1, 2012, to May 31, 2013. Initial CDBALs were performed if patients developed the following signs of pneumonia: white blood cell count greater than 11 or less than 4, temperature greater than 38.5°C or less than 36°C, qualitative purulent sputum, worsening oxygenation, or new infiltrate on plain chest x-ray. Subsequent CDBALs were performed every 4 days. Pneumonia was diagnosed using a Clinical Pulmonary Infection Score of greater than 6 and CDBAL cultures with greater than or equal to 10 colony-forming units of pathogenic organisms. Patients were also evaluated for sustained (≥48 hours) respiratory deterioration (increased FIO2 or positive end-expiratory pressure) corresponding to the National Healthcare Safety Network definition of ventilator-associated event (VAE). RESULTS: A total of 159 patients were intubated for 5 days or longer, of whom 80 patients were diagnosed with clinical pneumonia. Of these patients, 67 had serial CDBALs performed, and 81 ventilator-associated pneumonias (VAPs) were diagnosed in these patients. Of the patients with VAP, 16 also met the National Healthcare Safety Network criteria for VAE. Patients with VAP that had sustained respiratory deterioration demonstrated resolution of their compromise 60 hours (interquartile range [IQR], 41-107 hours) after starting antibiotics. Of the patients with pneumonia, 66 (81%) had resolution of the pathogenic bacteria in subsequent CDBAL cultures or were extubated within 4 days (IQR, 4-5 days) after starting antibiotics. The duration of antibiotic therapy in this group was 8 days (IQR, 7-9 days). The remaining 15 patients had multiple positive serial CDBAL cultures that isolated the same organism despite antibiotic treatment. The duration of antibiotic therapy was 14 days (IQR, 10-19 days) in these patients. The culture results were used to adjust antibiotic regimens a median of one time (IQR, 1-2 times) in 13 (87%) and two or more times in 6 (40%) of these patients. CONCLUSION: Serial CDBALs help guide antibiotic treatment duration in patients with pneumonia and VAE. Patients with sustained hypoxia or persistent bacterial growth may require prolonged therapy. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Diagnostic test, level III. Therapeutic study, level IV.