Ventilator Associated Pneumonia (VAP)

For our public reporting purposes, ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) is defined as a pneumonia (lung infection) occurring in patients in an intensive care unit (ICU), requiring, external mechanical breathing support (a ventilator) intermittently or continuously, through a breathing tube for more than 48 hours.

VAP can develop in patients for many reasons. Because they are relying on an external machine to breath, their normal coughing, yawning, and deep breath reflexes are suppressed. Furthermore, they may have a depressed immune system, making them more vulnerable to infection. ICU teams have many ways to try to assist patients with these normal breathing reflexes, but despite this, patients are still at risk for developing pneumonia.

VAP Rates

All hospitals with ICUs required to report into the Critical Care Information System (CCIS) – a centralized data collection system where hospitals report a variety of critical care information – must publicly report the VAP indicator data.

These Ontario hospitals are posting their quarterly VAP rate and case count for those infections acquired in their facility, using the following formula:

total # of ICU cases of VAP after 48 hours of mechanical ventilation x 1000

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total # of ventilator days for ICU patients 18 years and older

More patient-specific information is available at www.ontario.ca/patientsafety and www.oha.com/quality-safety-and-patient-and-family-centred-care and www.oha.com/Documents/English%20-%20Pamphlet.pdf.

Ventilator associated pneumonia rates at The Ottawa Hospital

New Cases of Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia

Source: Critical Care Information System (CCIS)

Cases occurring in a Critical Care Unit that reports to CCIS
VAP diagnosis occurred after day 2 of Critical Care Unit admission
* 1-4 cases are to be reported as < 5

Last updated on: October 28th, 2024