Prevention of Ventilator associated Pneumonia

·  Condensate: The liquid water that forms when warm, humid exhaled air cools and releases its moisture into the ventilator circuit or tubing
·  Ventilator: A device used to support, assist, or control respiration (inclusive of the weaning period) through the application of positive pressure to the airway when delivered via an artificial airway, specifically oral/nasal endotracheal or tracheostomy tube.
·  Ventilator associated Events (VAEs): VAEs are identified by using a combination of objective criteria: deterioration in respiratory status after a period of stability or improvement on the ventilator, evidence of infection or inflammation, and laboratory evidence of respiratory infection, and are categorized into the following 3 tiers: ventilator- associated condition (VAC), infection-related ventilator-associated complication (IVAC), and possible ventilator-associated pneumonia (PVAP).
·   Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP): A pneumonia where the patient is on mechanical ventilation for > 2 consecutive calendar days on the date of event, with day of ventilator placement being Day 1*AND the ventilator was in place on the date of event or the day before.*If the ventilator was in place prior to inpatient admission, the ventilator day count begins with the admission date to the first inpatient location.