An epidemiological study of ventilator-associated pneumonia in Intensive Care Unit and antibiotics sensitivity pattern of organism causing ventilator-associated pneumonia (2012—2016) at Al Qassim Region of Saudi Arabia

Background: Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is defined as pneumonia that occurs after 48—72 h following endotracheal intubation, characterised by the presence of a new or progressive infiltrate showing in X-ray, signs and symptom of systemic infection such as fever, change in white blood cell count, changes in sputum characteristics and the detection of a causative agent in the sample. Aim: This study aims to find out the epidemiological pattern of the VAP in Intensive Care Unit and their sensitivity pattern. Materials and Methods: This was retrospective observational study. Results: In the past 5 years, 69 (20.24%) cases of VAP were reported out of total healthcare-associated infections (n = 331). The male cases 54 (78%) were nearly four times higher than that of female cases 15 (22%), and difference is statistically significant (χ2 = 15.2, P = 0.01). Most of the cases observed were above 60 years of age (n = 24) whereas, least cases observed in cases below 15 years of age (n = 4). In the present study, VAP was observed in increasing trend (2012—2015) 16% to 27%. Mean hospital-wide infection rate was higher in 2015 (4.34; standard deviation [SD] =3.33) than 2016 (2.14; SD = 2.25). The most common organism isolated from VAP was Acinetobacter baumannii followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Conclusion: The VAP cases reported four times higher among males than females and common above 60 years of age, most common causative organism isolated from VAP patients was A. baumannii. Majority of the isolates of A. baumannii and P. aeruginosa were resistant to commonly used antibiotics.