Postoperative and Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia

Postoperative pneumonia is currently the third most common complication seen in surgical patients and is associated with an increase in both patient morbidity and hospital costs. The incidence of postoperative pneumonia varies among the different surgical subspecialties. A number of evidence-based strategies exist regarding the prevention and management of pneumonia. However, the majority of studies on ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) do not specifically focus on surgical patients but rather are based on mixed medical-surgical ICU patients. The aim of this review is to define the incidence, pathogenesis, and risk factors of both postoperative and VAP; determine what pathogens are commonly encountered; discuss treatment methods; and introduce measures that can be implemented in both the surgical wards and the ICU aimed at preventing this complication. This review contains 5 figures, 7 tables, and 64 references.  Key Words: antimicrobial therapy, disease prevention, postoperative pneumonia, surgical critical care; ventilator associated pneumonia, culture, prevention, management, bundles, diagnosis