Prevalence of ventilator-associated events and antibiogram of bacterial isolates of ventilator-associated pneumonia in a tertiary care hospital of Uttarakhand

Despite progress in diagnosing and managing ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), ongo- ing monitoring of ventilator-associated events (VAE) is crucial due to VAP's persistent prominence as the primary cause of Hospital-Acquired Infection (HAI) among Intensive Care unit patients. This study was done to illuminate the prevalence of VAE and antibiogram of bacterial isolates of VAP in a tertiary care hospital of Uttarakhand.

This cross-sectional study focused on ICU patients. Adult patients ventilated for > 2 days were monitored daily, with VAE data analyzed using Center of Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) criteria. Specimens were sent to the Microbiology Department and cultured on Blood agar and MacConkey agar. Identification and antimicrobial profiles of isolates were determined using Vitek-2 Compact.

1220 ventilated individuals were assessed in total. VAE was diagnosed in 6.4% (78/1220) of the patients, the same later developed ventilator associated condition (VAC), 74 developed the infection-related VAC (IVAC), and 60 developed the possible/probable VAP (PVAP) among the 78 VAE cases. Klebsiella pneumoniae (35%), Acinetobacter baumannii (33%), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (16%) were the most common isolated organisms. Colistin (57%) was the most effective against Klebsiella pneumoniae, followed by amikacin (28.5%) and trimethoprim+sulfamethoxazole (24%). Pseudomonas aeruginosa was most susceptible to imipenem (70%), meropenem, cefoperazone+sulbactam, and colistin (60%). Acineto- bacter baumannii was most susceptible to colistin (85%), tigecycline (65%), and trimethoprim+sulfamethoxazole (25%).

The most common cause of HAI is VAP. The purpose of this study is to determine the importance of starting suitable antibiotics early for prognosis and the difficulty of diagnosing VAP.