Background: Nosocomial pneumonia (NP) is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in hospitalized patients.
Objective: The objectives of this study were to describe the epidemiology of NP in adult patients hospitalized in Canadian acute care facilities and identify prognostic indicators for death.
Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted in 114 patients with NP admitted to
hospitals that participated in a 2002 Canadian point prevalence survey.
Results: A high proportion of NP patients had a rapidly or ultimately fatal underlying illness. NP in non-intensive care unit (ICU) patients accounted for the larger proportion of these infections.There was no mortality difference between patients with and without ventilator-associated NP, or with and without ICU-acquired NP. Delayed initiation of appropriate antimicrobial therapy was
associated with a poorer outcome.
Discussion: Strategies that result in the timely administration of appropriate antimicrobial therapy should be investigated in an effort to reduce NP-associated mortality.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TORONTO/oai:tspace.library.utoronto.ca:1807/30643 |
| Date | 08 December 2011 |
| Creators | Johnston, Barbara |
| Contributors | McGeer, Allison |
| Source Sets | University of Toronto |
| Language | en_ca |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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