Effects of systemic antibiotics in early onset ventilator-associated pneumonia in trauma patients: A single-centre retrospective cohort study

Background: Ventilator-associated pneumonia is one of the commonest complications encountered in intubated patients: its incidence ranges from 20% to 60%, with higher incidences seen in patients with polytrauma. Ventilator-associated pneumonia can result in poor neurological outcomes upon discharge, longer duration of mechanical ventilation and prolonged intensive care unit stays. The use of systemic antibiotics has been proposed as one method to reduce this complication. However, its effectiveness remains to be determined, and concerns about bacterial resistance hinder its use. This study aims to evaluate the effects of systemic antibiotics on early ventilator-associated pneumonia prevention. Methods: This is a single-centred retrospective cohort study, using data in the local trauma registry from 2015 to 2020. Patients aged ⩾18 years who suffered from injury to the head or trunk and were intubated within 12 h of hospitalization were evaluated for early ventilator-associated pneumonia to determine the effectiveness of systemic antibiotics on the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia and to identify other risk factors for ventilator-associated pneumonia in patients suffering from trauma. Result: A total of 250 patients were recruited; 59 of them met the criteria for early onset ventilator-associated pneumonia. Early use of broad-spectrum antibiotics with potent anaerobic coverage was found to be protective for early onset ventilator-associated pneumonia (adjusted odds ratio = 0.228, p = 0.044). Increasing age and severe thoracic or abdominal injury were also found to be strong non-modifiable predictors for the development of early onset ventilator-associated pneumonia. Conclusion: Use of systemic antibiotics with potent anaerobic coverage within 3 h of injury was found to prevent early onset ventilator-associated pneumonia in those intubated within 12 h of injury. However, a large-scale randomized control trial may be needed to further evaluate its benefit and its potential side effects, most notably the risk of antibiotic resistance.