@article{Rafiq_Ikram_Afzal_Zaman_Usman_Ayyub_2018, title={VENTILATOR ASSOCIATED PNEUMONIA AMONG PATIENTS ON MECHANICAL VENTILATION AT TERTIARY CARE CENTRES: Ventilator Associated Pneumonia}, volume={68}, url={https://www.pafmj.org/PAFMJ/article/view/1569}, abstractNote={<p><strong>Objective:</strong> To determine the frequency of ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) among patients on mechanical<br>ventilation, and to identify the causative bacterial pathogens and antibiotic susceptibility pattern of isolated<br>microorganisms in intensive care units of tertiary care settings.<br><strong>Study Design:</strong> Descriptive cross sectional.<br><strong>Place and Duration of Study:</strong> This study was conducted at Microbiology Department, Armed Forces Institute of<br>Pathology (AFIP), Rawalpindi, from Dec 2014 to Aug 2015.<br><strong>Material and Methods:</strong> A total of 176 patients on mechanical ventilation were included in the study; patients<br>having respiratory tract infection before putting on ventilator were excluded. Endotracheal aspirate (ETA) and<br>Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) samples were collected aseptically from patients on mechanical ventilation on day<br>zero i.e. the day on which the patient was put on ventilator to rule out any previous respiratory tract infection<br>and then after 48 hours to observe the development of VAP. Samples were processed in the laboratory by<br>standard culture techniques, pathogens were identified and their antibiotic susceptibility was performed as per<br>CLSI guidelines.<br><strong>Results:</strong> Out of 176 patients on mechanical ventilation, 59 (33.5%) developed VAP. Acinetobacter baumanii<br>being the predominant pathogen isolated from 32 (54.2%) patients followed by MRSA 11 (18.6%), Klebsiella<br>pneumoniae 9 (15.2%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa 5 (8.47%) and Stenotrophomonas maltophila from 2 (3.38%)<br>patients.<br><strong>Conclusion:</strong> Frequency of VAP is quite high in our setup, identification of causative bacterial pathogens and their<br>antibiotic susceptibility pattern will not only help in providing effective treatment to the patients but will also<br>help in the formulation of antibiogram according to local resistance patterns for empirical therapy and to reduce<br>the morbidity and mortality.</p>}, number={1}, journal={Pakistan Armed Forces Medical Journal}, author={Rafiq, Dr Muhammad Yasir and Ikram, Aamer and Afzal, Amna and Zaman, Gohar and Usman, Bushra and Ayyub, Muhammad}, year={2018}, month={Feb.}, pages={75–79} }