Resumen

ARANCIBIA H, Francisco et al. DIAGNOSIS OF VENTILATOR ASSOCIATED PNEUMONIA. Rev. chil. infectol. [online]. 2001, vol.18, suppl.2, pp.41-57. ISSN 0716-1018.  http://dx.doi.org/10.4067/S0716-10182001018200002.

Ventilator-associated pneumonia is a life-threatening disease causing an increased morbidity, mortality, cost and length of stay in the intensive care unit. This document is an evidence based consensus which discusses diagnosis of ventilator associated pneumonia. Quantitative culture of tracheal aspirate is a non-invasive, easy to implement, reliable procedure, with sensitivity and specificity comparable to invasive methods (71-82% and 83-89% respectively using a cut-off of 10⁶). For reporting results we recommend to use a range from < 10³ to > 10⁶ ufc/ml