CLINICAL AND MICROBIOLOGICAL CORROBORATION TO ASSESS THE ROLE OF QUANTITATIVE CULTURE OF ENDOTRACHEAL ASPIRATES IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF VENTILATOR ASSOCIATED PNEUMONIA (VAP) IN ICU PATIENTS

Abstract

Introduction Pneumonia is the most common
nosocomial infection among ICU patients.
Risk of developing pneumonia is 3-
10 fold higher in mechanically ventilated
patients. ObjectivesTo assess the role of
quantitative culture of Endotracheal aspirates
in correlating the diagnosis of ventilator-
associated pneumonia in ICU patients.
Materials and Methods About 542
ICU patients who were on mechanical ventilation
were screened for clinical signs of
VAP. VAP rate was 7.1, with 22 cases
identified with ventilator associated pneumonia
. Endotracheal aspirate culture sensitivity
of those 22 cases of clinically diagnosed
VAP were analyzed. Results Quantitative
culture of endotracheal aspirates in
all 22 patients diagnosed with VAP were
105 CFU ml . Conclusions This study
shows that threshold values of quantitative
endotracheal aspirate culture of 105 CFU
ml correlates with the clinical diagnosis of
VAP .