From starting mechanical ventilation to ventilator-associated pneumonia choosing the right moment to start antibiotic treatment

摘要

BackgroundVentilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) can have a clear onset or may be a result of the gradual appearance of symptoms and signs of VAP (gradual VAP). The aim of this paper is to describe the VAP development process with the intention of discriminating between those pneumonias with a clear beginning and those that are diagnosed after a period of maturation. In addition, we evaluate the effect of the starting time of antibiotic treatment in both situations.