Carmelo Dueñas Castell

Consenso colombiano de neumonía nosocomial 2013

Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia (VAP) and Nosocomial Pneumonia (NP), defined as those lung infections acquired during mechanical ventilation, are common entities in intensive care units. They are associated with high morbidity and complicate the course of at least 8% to 28% of patients receiving mechanical ventilation (MV). The incidence of pneumonia is significantly higher in intensive care units (ICU) than in other hospital services and the risk is 3-10 times higher in patients with endotracheal intubation. Unlike other nosocomial infections with mortality ranging between 4% and 7%, mortality from pneumonia acquired in the 48 hours after intubation amounts to an attributable mortality of 27.1%, with an RR of 5.0.

Epidemiology of severe infections in Latin American intensive care units

Severe sepsis and septic shock are important causes of morbidity and mortality in patients admitted to intensive care units (ICU).(1) These conditions are generally associated with multiple organ failure as a final outcome.(1-4) Over the past 30 years, the worldwide incidence of sepsis has increased by 13.7% per year.(1-4) It is therefore estimated that more than 18 million people suffer from sepsis each year, and more than five million of them die.(1-4) This increase is arguably due to the increasing numbers of people aged over 65 years (60% of septic patients are more than 65 years old), more frequent diseases and therapies causing immunosuppression, and the widespread use of diagnostic and/or therapeutic invasive procedures. Recent studies from Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand have shown the incidence rates of sepsis and its mortality in ICUs.(5-9) North American studies are limited to data obtained in four Canadian ICUs that participated in a multinational study and to data taken from administrative databases.(1) These data reveal an incidence of sepsis in the ICU ranging from 11.8% to 37.4%, with mortality rates between 35% and 53.6% (both in the hospital and after 30 days).