Preventing Ventilator Associated Pneumonia in the Intensive Care Unit - Research Paper Example

Preventing ventilator associated pneumonia in the intensive care unit due: Preventing ventilator associated pneumonia in the intensive care unit I specialize in Family Nurse Practitioner, and this topic is critical to me because I work in the (SICU) surgical intensive care unit. There has been an increase in the resistance patterns to antimicrobial agents in the intensive care units (ICU) (Hunter, 2012). The distinct nature of the ICU surrounding makes it a center for the appearance and growth of numerous antimicrobial-resistant pathogens.

In specific, ventilator-associated pneumonia is a pneumonia disorder that occurs following endotracheal intubation in 48-72 hours. Symptoms include systematic infection, detection of the causative agent, new or progressive infiltrate and changes in sputum characteristics (Kalanuria, Zai & Mirski 2014). From this perspective, I want to find various methods of preventing ventilator-associated pneumonia in the ICU patients. In this paper, I have conducted a library search using the most current medicine journals about the occurrence of ventilator-associated pneumonia in ICU.Huang, S. J.

, Huang, H. J., Yu, S. F., Chen, J. H., Huang, H. Y., Cheng, P. C., . & Lu, M. C. (2015). The implement of bundle care improves the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia in ICU. Journal of Microbiology, Immunology and Infection, 48(2), S153. The above journal discusses a research carried out in a medical center in central Taiwan. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia after implementation of VAP bundles. Before the introduction of VAP bundles the prevalence rate was 2.

5% in 2013 where a respirator was utilized in 49.9% of the patients hospitalized in the 20-bed Medical Centre. The incidence rate reduced from 2.5% in 2013 to 1.0% in Q3 of 2014, after the application of VAP bundle care.Laird, P. (2015). Preventing ventilator-related injury in the ICU. Retrieved May 22, 2015, from http://ovidsp.tx.ovid.com.southuniversity.libproxy.edmc.edu/sp-3.15.1b/ovidweb.cgi?QS2=434f4e1a73d37e8ca9c2ed569e2a6bcb0f412b007c9b7e54280dcd11f81c8b88c241ed21141302487cfd3d58d1402427e90395d588a7c5c119687037986016f981c651e712f27d984010f4812b662d4aee3eb831This resource talks about a mechanical ventilation technique that is utilized in the ICU.

It is a treatment for patients suffering from respiratory failure. Nevertheless, the method has various complications and risks related to its use. It is, therefore, recommended that patients using this type of therapy should be monitored daily. Monitoring daily is paramount to establish preparedness to perform early extubation and safeguard against possible fatal ventilator-associated problems. Kalanuria, A., Zai, W., & Mirski, M. (2014, March 18). Ventilator-associated pneumonia inThe ICU. Retrieved May 22, 2015, from http://ccforum.

com/content/18/2/208The document suggests that using ‘VAP-bundle’ may minimize the infection rate. It talks about a 5-element Institute of Healthcare Improvement VAP bundle. One weakness of this technique is that there is no quality evidence to support its effectiveness. In addition, the significance of interventions utilized is questioned. Moreover, the document proposes that a single dose of antibiotics administered within 4 hours of intubation may limit the early onset of ventilator-associated pneumonia.

Pogorzelska, M., Stone, P. W., Furuya, E. Y., Perencevich, E. N., Larson, E. L., Goldmann, D., & Dick, A. (2011). The impact of the ventilator bundle on ventilator-associated pneumonia in intensive care unit. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 23(5), 538-544.This Journal discusses a research conducted in 250 US hospitals to determine the effectiveness of ventilator bundles in preventing ventilator-associated pneumonia. The study concluded that the independent elements used were not effective.

The report indicates that there is a need for strict compliance with infection aspects for the technique to yield successful outcomes. In addition, the research shows that the presence of full-time hospital epidemiologists reduces the prevalence rate of ventilator-associated pneumonia. In conclusion, among the various methods discussed by different journals, VAP bundle care is the potential innovation that can restrict ventilator- associated pneumonia in ICU. The method involves various aspects that include sustaining the head of the bed at 30-45 degrees and removing fluid in the ventilator circuit.

In addition, other strategies comprise of daily suspension of sedatives, 0.12% chlorhexidine oral care and daily extubation evaluation. Strict compliance to these elements enhances compliance of extubation assessment as well as the nursing evaluation rate that can increase from 94.9% to 100%. In addition, VAP bundle care reduces the amount of isolated MDRO (Huang et al., 2015).  ReferencesKalanuria, A., Zai, W., & Mirski, M. (2014, March 18). Ventilator-associated pneumonia in the ICU. Retrieved May 22, 2015, from http://ccforum.

com/content/18/2/208Laird, P. (2015). Preventing ventilator-related injury in the ICU. Retrieved May 22, 2015, from http://ovidsp.tx.ovid.com.southuniversity.libproxy.edmc.edu/sp-3.15.1b/ovidweb.cgi?QS2=434f4e1a73d37e8ca9c2ed569e2a6bcb0f412b007c9b7e54280dcd11f81c8b88c241ed21141302487cfd3d58d1402427e90395d588a7c5c119687037986016f981c651e712f27d984010f4812b662d4aee3eb831Huang, S. J., Huang, H. J., Yu, S. F., Chen, J. H., Huang, H. Y., Cheng, P. C., . & Lu, M. C. (2015). The implement of bundle care improves the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia in ICU.

Journal of Microbiology, Immunology and Infection, 48(2), S153.Hunter, J. D. (2012). Ventilator associated pneumonia. BMJ, 344.Pogorzelska, M., Stone, P. W., Furuya, E. Y., Perencevich, E. N., Larson, E. L., Goldmann, D., & Dick, A. (2011). Impact of the ventilator bundle on ventilator-associated pneumonia in intensive care unit. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 23(5), 538-544.