Major ArticleVentilator-associated pneumonia rates in critical care units in 3 Arabian Gulf countries: A 6-year surveillance study

- The overall ventilator-associated pneumonia rate from 6 Gulf Cooperation Council hospitals was 4.8 per 1,000 ventilator days.
- Gulf Cooperation Council rates were higher than U.S. ventilator-associated pneumonia rates, irrespective of intensive care unit type.
- Gulf Cooperation Council rates were lower than ventilator-associated pneumonia rates from International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium countries, irrespective of intensive care unit type.
- Gulf Cooperation Council rates are improving overtime, with >70% reduction in 6 years.
- The current findings can serve as an additional local benchmark.

BackgroundData estimating the rates of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in critical patients in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are very limited. The aim of this study was to estimate VAP rates in GCC hospitals and to compare rates with published reports of the U.S. National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) and International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC).MethodsVAP rates and ventilator utilization between 2008 and 2013 were calculated from aggregate VAP surveillance data using NHSN methodology pooled from 6 hospitals in 3 GCC countries: Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Bahrain. The standardized infection ratios of VAP in GCC hospitals were compared with published reports of the NHSN and INICC.ResultsA total of 368 VAP events were diagnosed during a 6-year period covering 76,749 ventilator days and 134,994 patient days. The overall VAP rate was 4.8 per 1,000 ventilator days (95% confidence interval, 4.3-5.3), with an overall ventilator utilization of 0.57. The VAP rates showed a wide variability between different types of intensive care units (ICUs) and were decreasing over time. After adjusting for the differences in ICU type, the risk of VAP in GCC hospitals was 217% higher than NHSN hospitals and 69% lower than INICC hospitals.ConclusionsThe risk of VAP in ICU patients in GCC countries is higher than pooled U.S. VAP rates but lower than pooled rates from developing countries participating in the INICC.