Impact of Care Program on Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia Incidence: A Clinical Trial

Background: Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is one of the common problems in patients who are under mechanical ventilation and increases the hospitalization duration and treatment expenses. The current study was conducted to determine the impact of a care program on VAP.

Methods: This clinical trial was performed on intubated patients who were under mechanical ventilation in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of teaching hospitals in Zahedan, Iran in 2015. Seventy patients were selected through convenience method and were assigned into two groups of 35 people as the control and intervention groups. The care program was executed for three days in the intervention group. Pneumonia incidence was evaluated by the Modified Clinical Pulmonary Infection Score (MCPIS) both pre- and post-intervention. The data were analyzed by independent t-test and Chi-square test.

Results: Pneumonia did not occur in the intervention group, while VAP occurred in 54% of the patients of the control group. The Chi-square test demonstrated a significant difference between the two groups (P<0.001).

Conclusion: Preventive interventions might be beneficial in reducing the occurrence of VAP when executed as a regular caring package for the patients. Therefore, these therapies are recommended as a nursing intervention in ICUs.