Patients receiving mechanical ventilation are more likely to develop ventilator-associated pneumonia if topical antibiotics are administered, according to a study in CHEST.
Australian researchers analyzed 206 international publications evaluating intensive care unit pneumonia prevention methods.
They found an average of 23.7 percent of patients receiving prolonged mechanical ventilation experienced VAP. For patients receiving topical antibiotics, an average of 38 percent developed VAP.
"The contextual effect of topical antibiotics is paradoxic, peculiar, potent, perfidious and potentially perilous," researchers conclude.
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