Impact of the ventilator bundle on ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) rates in a pediatric intensive care unit in Londrina-PR

Healthcare-associated infections (HAI) are an important patient safety concern around the globe. Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is the leading cause of death among HAI, with attributable mortality ranging from 15 to 70% depending on the patient population. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended that all ICUs implement a ventilator bundle to reduce the VAP rate. The purposes of the present study were to examine the effect of the bundle of infection control interventions, education, VAP rates in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) of the Hospital Universitário of Londrina-PR. This study was conducted between January and December 2013 and consisted of three periods: pre-intervention, intervention and post-intervention. An educational intervention was given to 86 healthcare workers (HCWs) about bundles to prevent VAP, and a questionnaire was also performed pre and post-intervention. Overall, 135 opportunities of patient care were evaluated. The compliance with hand hygiene and the use of gloves and gowns did not improve, but orotracheal intubation, maintenance of the patients in a 30-45º head of bed elevation, endotracheal cuff pressure and removal of condensate from ventilator circuts increased significantly when comparing pre- and post-intervention. The VAP rate was 49.6% during the pre-intervention period and 17.5% during the post-intervention period demonstrating a 64.8% reduction in VAP rate. Our results show that implementation of the bundle of infection control interventions was associated with a significant reduction in VAP rate