Summary of the international clinical guidelines for the management of hospital-acquired and ventilator-acquired pneumonia

The most recent European guidelines and task force reports on hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) and ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) were published almost 10 years ago. Since then, further randomised clinical trials of HAP and VAP have been conducted and new information has become available. Studies of epidemiology, diagnosis, empirical treatment, response to treatment, new antibiotics or new forms of antibiotic administration, and disease prevention have changed old paradigms. In addition, important differences between approaches in Europe and the USA have become apparent. The European Respiratory Society (ERS) launched a project to develop new international guidelines for HAP and VAP. Other European societies, including the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM) and the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID), were invited to participate and appointed their representatives. The Latin American Society of Thoracic Diseases (ALAT) was also invited to participate. This manuscript summarises the evidence and recommendations of these international guidelines on HAP and VAP