CLINICAL AND MICROBIOLOGICAL CORROBORATION TO ASSESS THE ROLE OF QUANTITATIVE CULTURE OF ENDOTRACHEAL ASPIRATES IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF VENTILATOR ASSOCIATED PNEUMONIA (VAP) IN ICU PATIENTS

Introduction Pneumonia is the most common nosocomial infection among ICU patients. Risk of developing pneumonia is 3- 10 fold higher in mechanically ventilated patients. ObjectivesTo assess the role of quantitative culture of Endotracheal aspirates in correlating the diagnosis of ventilator- associated pneumonia in ICU patients.Materials and Methods About 542 ICU patients who were on mechanical ventilation were screened for clinical signs of VAP. VAP rate was 7.1, with 22 cases identified with ventilator associated pneumonia . Endotracheal aspirate culture sensitivity of those 22 cases of clinically diagnosed VAP were analyzed. Results Quantitative culture of endotracheal aspirates in all 22 patients diagnosed with VAP were 105 CFU ml . Conclusions This study shows that threshold values of quantitative endotracheal aspirate culture of 105 CFU ml correlates with the clinical diagnosis of VAP .