Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia: Overdiagnosis and Treatment Are Common in Medical and Surgical Intensive Care Units

Abstract

Overdiagnosis and treatment of VAP was common in this study and led to 1,183 excess days of antibiotics in patients with no indication for antibiotics. Clinical differences between non-VAP patients who had antibiotics continued or discontinued were minimal, suggesting that clinician preferences and behaviors contribute to unnecessary prescribing.