Davide Calabretta, Applied Research in Respiratory Infections and Critical Illness, Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain; School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care, ASST Ovest Milanese Ospedale Civile di Legnano, Milan, Italy;
Claudia Accetturo, Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care, ASST Ovest Milanese Ospedale Civile di Legnano, Milan, Italy; Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
Antoni Torres, Pneumology Service, Hospital Clínic, Barcelna; Faculty of Medicine, University of Barcelona, Spain; Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona; CIBER de enfermedades respiratorias (Ciberes), Spain
Hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) is a group of nosocomial infections that includes a variety of different phenotypes of pneumonia. This heterogeneity, along with the time-dependent nature of the disease, contributes to the difficulty in determining its exact incidence and mortality, despite being one of the most common and lethal hospital acquired infections, particularly in critically ill patients. Many cases of infection are sustained by multi-drug resistant pathogens and require rapid diagnosis and identification of the responsible pathogen and appropriate antibiotic treatment. This review aims to summarize the main evidence in the clinical management of HAP, focusing on the identification of risk factors, prevention, and innovations in the areas of diagnosis and treatment.
Keywords: Hospital-acquired pneumonia. Ventilation-associated pneumonia. Multidrug resistance. Nosocomial infections. Antimicrobial treatment.
