Reduction in inadequate empiric antibiotic therapy for ventilator-associated pneumonia: impact of a unit-specific treatment pathway.

Empiric antibiotic therapy is routinely initiated for patients with presumed ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). Reported mortality rates for inadequate empiric antibiotic therapy (IEAT) for VAP range from 45 to 91 per cent. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a unit-specific pathway for the empiric management of VAP on reducing IEAT episodes and improving outcomes in trauma patients. Patients admitted with VAP over 36-months were identified and stratified by gender, age, severity of shock, and injury severity. Outcomes included number of IEAT episodes, ventilator days, intensive care unit days, hospital days, and mortality. Three hundred and ninety-three patients with 668 VAP episodes were identified. There were 144 (22%) IEAT episodes: significantly reduced compared with our previous study (39%) (P < 0.001). Patients were classified by number of IEAT episodes: 0 (n = 271), 1 (n = 98) and > or = 2 (n = 24). Mortality was 12 per cent, 13 per cent, and 38 per cent (P < 0.001), respectively. Multivariable logistic regression identified multiple IEAT episodes as an independent predictor of mortality (odds ratio = 4.7; 95% confidence interval: 1.684-13.162). Multiple IEAT episodes were also associated with prolonged mechanical ventilation and intensive care unit stay (P < 0.001). Trauma patients with multiple IEAT episodes for VAP have increased morbidity and mortality. Adherence to a unit-specific pathway for the empiric management of VAP reduces multiple IEAT episodes. By limiting IEAT episodes, resource utilization and hospital mortality are significantly decreased.