Is the stomach an important source of tracheal contamination and subsequent pneumonia?

Objective: To determine the role of gastric colonization in the development of tracheal contamination and subsequent pulmonary infection in critically ill patients. Design: Observational cohort study. Setting: Eight tertiary care medical-surgical intensive care units. Participants: ICU patients expected to remain ventilated > 48 hours. We excluded patients with gastrointestinal bleeding, acidaemia, and renal failure. We studied 95 patients …