Prevention of VAP: is zero rate possible?

Infection prevention measures, specifically targeting ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), have been purposed as quality-of-care indicators for patients in intensive care units. The authors discuss some of the recent evidence of the prevention of nosocomial infections, with a particular emphasis on VAP. Moreover, there are several pitfalls in considering VAP rates as a safety indicator. Because of these limitations, the authors recommend the use of specific process measures, designed to reduce VAP, as the basis for interinstitutional benchmarking.