Efficacy and Safety of Automated Antiseptic Lavage and Suctioning of Oral, Oropharyngeal, and Subglottic Secretions (Vapcare) Among Ventilated Patients with COVID-19 Developing VentilatorAssociated Events During Hospitalization: A Prospective Randomized Open Blinded End-Point Study

Background: Globally, invasive mechanical ventilation is one of the many methods relied on by intensivists to treat patients diagnosed with COVID-19. In this population, substandard oral care and secretion management permit the colonization of pathogens in the oral cavity and aspiration of these microbeladen secretions is the leading cause of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). This study was conducted to analyze the effects of VapCare, an automated and intelligent secretion clearance and oral hygiene management system for VAP prevention, compared to the manual process.