Mechanical Ventilator

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a type of pneumonia that is acquired by being on a mechanical ventilator. Cutler and Sluman (2013) describe pneumonia as an inflammatory illness within the lungs that is due to some type of infectious agent. That infectious agent could be viral, bacterial, or from an environmental fungal source (Cutler & Sluman, 2013). A mechanical ventilator is a type of hospital device that effectively and efficiently maintains breathing. A ventilator essentially breathes for the patient in cases where the patient is not capable of breathing on their own. Any patient who is mechanically ventilated is at risk for developing pneumonia. Chao, Chen, Wang, Lee, and Tsai (2008) describe some risk factors for developing VAP, which is the lack of oral hygiene, infrequent body positioning, and violation of infection control by nurses or physicians to name a few. …show more content…
Andrews (2014) describes that VAP can cause a variety of problems in the intensive care unit (ICU), like increasing the risk of death and disease in patients. VAP can lead to a patient having to be on mechanical ventilation longer, it may affect the length of the patient’s hospital stay, and it can increase the costs for the hospital (Andrews, 2014). Andrews (2014) also explains that VAP is a form of hospital-acquired pneumonia, or nosocomial pneumonia, and is mostly prevalent in ICU patients who are mechanically ventilated. Being on a ventilator for forty-eight hours or more can increase a patient’s risk of developing VAP (Andrews, 2014). The mechanical ventilation can be performed through either having a tracheotomy or an endotracheal tube (ETT) (Andrews, 2014). A tracheotomy or an endotracheal tube are basically an artificial airway for the patient to be connected to the ventilator to support