A descriptive study on the diagnosis and treatment of ventilator-associated pneumonia in the neonatal intensive care unit of Assiut University Children’s Hospital

Background Neonatal ventilator‑associated pneumonia (VAP) is a common nosocomial infection and a frequent reason for empirical antibiotic therapy in neonatal intensive care units. Patients and methods Reviewing data of diagnosis and management of neonates with VAP admitted to Assiut University Neonatal Intensive Care Unit was carried out during a period of 1 year. Results The current study was carried out at Assiut Children University Hospital during the period spanning between October 2016 and November 2017 to audit the clinical practice towards management of neonates with mechanical VAP. It included 50 neonates who were diagnosed to have mechanical VAP. Conclusion The incidence of suspected VAP and concomitant antibiotic use is much higher than for confirmed VAP; therefore, inclusion of suspected episodes should be considered for accurate evaluation. There is a high diagnostic inconsistency and a low reliability of interpretation of chest radiographs with regard to VAP. Implementation of combined antimicrobial stewardship and infection control measures may lead to an effective decrease in VAP incidence and antibiotic use.