OBJECTIVE: To determine whether a practice of not routinely changing ventilator circuits in patients who require prolonged mechanical ventilation is associated with an increased incidence of nosocomial pneumonia. DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial. SETTING:Intensive care units in two university-affiliated teaching hospitals. PATIENTS: 300 patients admitted to an intensive care unit who required mechanical ventilation for more than 5 days. INTERVENTION: Patients were randomly assigned to receive either no routine ventilator circuit changes or circuit changes every 7 days. MEASUREMENTS: The primary outcome measure was the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia. Other outcome measures included duration of mechanical ventilation, length of hospital stay, and hospital mortality. RESULTS:147 patients were randomly assigned to receive no routine ventilator circuit changes, and 153 patients were randomly assigned to receive circuit changes every 7 days. The two groups were similar at the time of randomization with regard to demographic characteristics, intensive care unit admission diagnoses, and severity of illness. Ventilator-associated pneumonia was seen in 36 patients (24.5%) receiving no routine changes and in 44 patients (28.8%) receiving changes every 7 days (relative risk, 0.85 [95% CI, 0.55 to 1.17]). No statistically significant differences for hospital mortality, intensive care unit mortality, death during mechanical ventilation, death in patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia, or mortality directly attributed to ventilator-associated pneumonia were found between the two treatment groups (P > or = 0.11). Patients receiving changes every 7 days had 247 circuit changes costing a total of $7410; patients receiving no routine changes had a total of 11 circuit changes costing $330. CONCLUSION: The elimination of routine ventilator circuit changes can reduce medical care costs without increasing the incidence of nosocomial pneumonia in patients who require prolonged mechanical ventilation.
RCT Entities:
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether a practice of not routinely changing ventilator circuits in patients who require prolonged mechanical ventilation is associated with an increased incidence of nosocomial pneumonia. DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial. SETTING: Intensive care units in two university-affiliated teaching hospitals. PATIENTS: 300 patients admitted to an intensive care unit who required mechanical ventilation for more than 5 days. INTERVENTION: Patients were randomly assigned to receive either no routine ventilator circuit changes or circuit changes every 7 days. MEASUREMENTS: The primary outcome measure was the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia. Other outcome measures included duration of mechanical ventilation, length of hospital stay, and hospital mortality. RESULTS: 147 patients were randomly assigned to receive no routine ventilator circuit changes, and 153 patients were randomly assigned to receive circuit changes every 7 days. The two groups were similar at the time of randomization with regard to demographic characteristics, intensive care unit admission diagnoses, and severity of illness. Ventilator-associated pneumonia was seen in 36 patients (24.5%) receiving no routine changes and in 44 patients (28.8%) receiving changes every 7 days (relative risk, 0.85 [95% CI, 0.55 to 1.17]). No statistically significant differences for hospital mortality, intensive care unit mortality, death during mechanical ventilation, death in patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia, or mortality directly attributed to ventilator-associated pneumonia were found between the two treatment groups (P > or = 0.11). Patients receiving changes every 7 days had 247 circuit changes costing a total of $7410; patients receiving no routine changes had a total of 11 circuit changes costing $330. CONCLUSION: The elimination of routine ventilator circuit changes can reduce medical care costs without increasing the incidence of nosocomial pneumonia in patients who require prolonged mechanical ventilation.
Authors: Coleman Rotstein; Gerald Evans; Abraham Born; Ronald Grossman; R Bruce Light; Sheldon Magder; Barrie McTaggart; Karl Weiss; George G Zhanel Journal: Can J Infect Dis Med Microbiol Date: 2008-01 Impact factor: 2.471