Prognostic factors in intensive care unit patients with ventilator associated pneumonia: the role of comorbidity and clinical severity scores

Aims: The objective of this study is to ascertain patient and other related characteristics, such as body-mass index (BMI) and comorbidities, that may be associated with prognosis in patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in the Anaesthesia Intensive Care Units (ICU) of Akdeniz University. Methods: It was designed as a retrospective cohort study in which patients with a diagnosis of VAP in the ICU was included. The demographic and clinical data obtained and analysed were age, gender, comorbidities, BMI, Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) and the reason for admission to the ICU. The clinical severity of patients was determined by the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation-II (APACHE II) score and the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score. Results: The study comprised of 111 patients diagnosed with VAP. The overall ICU mortality in VAP patients was 64%, and the 28-day ICU mortality was 55%. A number of factors have been identified as being independently associated with mortality in the studied cohort. These factors include increasing age, SOFA score on the day of VAP and the presence of chronic corticosteroid use. Conclusion: VAP remains a significant problem in ICUs, and mortality is a major issue in these patients. The implementation of more effective control measures is of great importance. Among all the variables studied, age and SOFA score demonstrated the most consistent and statistically significant discriminatory power.