Paper of the Month - Volume 23 Issue 4

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Healthcare-Associated Pneumonia in the Intensive Care Unit

Marin H Kollef, MD

Pneumonia requiring treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU) is one of the most common infections managed by intensivists. The current classification of pneumonia in the ICU includes community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP), ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), and nursing home-associated pneumonia (NHAP; Table 1) [1–3]. Healthcare-associated pneumonia (HCAP) is the newest category of pneumonia, and is probably the most common type requiring ICU care in many developed countries. HCAP is a distinct type of pneumonia present at the time of hospital or ICU admission in patients with specific underlying risk factors including residence in a nursing-home or long-term care facility; those undergoing same-day invasive surgical or vascular procedures; those receiving home or hospital-based intravenous therapy, wound care, or dialysis; and those with significant immunosupression [2,3].



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