Ventilator-associated pneumonia: Improving outcomes through guideline implementation

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is associated with increased duration of mechanical ventilation and increased risk of death for critically ill patients. Although scientific advances have the potential to improve the outcomes of critically ill patients who are at risk of or who have VAP, the translation of research knowledge on effective strategies to prevent, diagnose, and treat VAP is not uniformly applied in practice in the intensive care unit. Knowledge about VAP may be used more effectively at the bedside by a systematic process of knowledge translation through implementation of clinical practice guidelines. Unfortunately, there remain large gaps in our understanding of guideline implementation in the intensive care unit, specifically as it applies to guidelines for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of VAP.