Advances in lower respiratory tract infections in critically ill patients / Avances en las infecciones del tracto respiratorio inferior en los pacientes en situación clínica crítica

ABSTRACT

The present article is an update of the literature on lower respiratory tract infections in critical patients. A multidisciplinary group of Spanish physicians with expertise in the field selected what they considered to be the most important papers published during 2004 and 2005. Each article was analyzed and discussed by one of the members of the panel. A critical review of all these contributions constitutes the body of this paper. After a review of the state of the art, papers selected in the field of new guidelines, risk factors, new diagnostic methods, antimicrobial therapy, and prevention are discussed