Incidence, Risk Factors, Microbiology and Outcomes of VAP at an NCU in India: A Prospective Observational Study.

Background: Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) remains a major challenge while managing ventilated critically ill patients in neurocritical care units (NCUs).

Materials and methods: This was a prospective, single-center, observational study. All adult patients admitted to our NCU requiring mechanical ventilation (MV) for >48 hours were screened for VAP as per clinical pulmonary infectious score (CPIS) criteria. The primary outcome was the incidence of VAP in the ICU. Secondary outcomes were risk factors, microbiology, percentage of MDR/XDR organisms, mortality, and length of stay (LOS) of VAP.

Results: A total of 24.94% (114 of 457) patients developed VAP. The incidence of VAP was 39.43/1000 ventilator days. Multivariate analysis of the risk factors identified, male gender, low Glasgow coma scale (GCS) of 3-8, prolonged ventilation, and diabetes mellitus as significant risk factors for the development of VAP (p < 0.05). Acinetobacter baumannii (31.58%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (28.95%), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (13.16%) were the most common organisms responsible for VAP. Most of these isolates were multidrug resistant (MDR) (81.58%), and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) organisms (12.28%). Although VAP patients had longer ICU-LOS (26.2 ± 24.2 vs 11.8 ± 6.9 days, p < 0.0001), it did not affect the mortality (18.4% for VAP vs 14.3% for non-VAP, p = 0.5).

Conclusion: Ventilator-associated pneumonia has a high incidence of 39.43 per 1,000 ventilator days in the Indian neurocritical care setting.

How to cite this article: Zirpe K, Kapse U, Sharma A, Kulkarni AP, Gurav S, Tiwari A, et al. Incidence, Risk Factors, Microbiology and Outcomes of VAP at an NCU in India: A Prospective Observational Study. Indian J Crit Care Med 2025;29(4):308-313.