Intro:
Develop an introductory paragraph describing the practice improvement issue of interest
The development of a PICOT question.
This project explores the evidence-based approach to improving the rates of ventilator associated pneumonia in intubated intensive care unit patients. Ventilator associated pneumonia is defined as the development of pneumonia in a mechanically ventilated and intubated patient within 48 hours before the onset of pneumonia as per the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Ventilator associated pneumonia or VAP for short is the second most common nosocomial infection in the United States and the most common healthcare-associated infection of ventilated patients, affecting an estimated 28% (Halyard, 2015). The death rate of patients diagnosed with ventilator associated pneumonia is up to 33%(Halyard, 2015), and higher than the rate of death due to central line infections, sepsis and respiratory tract infections. Furthermore, for each case of ventilator associated pneumonia, the cost of care for each patient increases by $40,000 to $57,000(Sedwick, 2012) and they stay an estimated 4 to 6 days longer in the ICU (Halyard, 2015) as compared to intubated patients not infected with pneumonia. Ventilator associated pneumonia is one of the leading problems amongst intensive care units worldwide and the implementation of a VAP prophylaxis bundle protocol can improve the outcome for mechanically ventilated patients. Throughout this paper, three evidence-based research articles aimed at improving the outcome of ventilated patients are explored.
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Results: