Type III protein secretion is associated with poor clinical outcomes in patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Abstract

In patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia, type-III-secreting isolates were associated with worse clinical outcomes, suggesting that this secretion system plays an important role in human disease. Our findings support the hypothesis that antibodies targeted against these proteins may be useful as adjunctive therapy in intubated patients with P. aeruginosa colonization or infection.