Ventilator Associated Pneumonia (VAP) - Safety Measurement
Patients occasionally need to be placed on breathing machine, or ventilator, during hospitalization. This may occur during surgery and general anesthesia but usually only during the operation.
Seriously ill patients in Intensive Care Units (ICU) may not be able to breathe adequately or safely on their own, and then may need to be placed on a ventilator. Generally, a tube is placed into their throat which is connected to the ventilator. This is commonly a short term problem for medical or surgical patients but occasionally requires a longer time on ventilator support.
Ventilator Care
One of the most serious complications of ventilator management is development of a hospital acquired pneumonia (lung infection), when a pneumonia was not the original reason for using the ventilator.
Developing pneumonia while on a ventilator should be avoidable. No hospital can guarantee that their patients will not develop a Ventilator Associated Pneumonia (VAP) but good hospitals have an effective safety program to minimize that risk. The program includes a series of practices and procedures, consistently applied, that can substantially reduce the risk, even for patients who spend a long time on a ventilator.
VAP Performance Report of Danbury Hospital
We measure our rate of Ventilator Associated Pneumonia, as compared to the total number of days our patients spend on ventilators. This method of calculation allows comparisons to national best practice, and includes the added risks for patients who need more days on a ventilator.