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Humidification Devices and Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia: Current Recommendations on Respiratory Equipment

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Humidification in the Intensive Care Unit

Abstract

Ventilation-acquired pneumonia (VAP), defined as lung parenchyma ­inflammation caused by infectious micro-organisms, complicates the ICU course of 20–30% of mechanically ventilated patients [1]. Pneumonia develops after microbial invasion of the normally sterile lower respiratory tract and lung parenchyma. Among the risk factors for VAP, bacterial contamination of respiratory equipment (that can be an important reservoir for bacteria that can reach and infect the lung parenchyma) has been long recognized as a potential source of VAP [1]. Older inhalation therapy equipment posed a considerable challenge in the past (reviewed in [2]), and despite considerable improvement in respiratory equipment, the impact of humidification devices on the occurrence of VAP is still a matter of debate [2, 3]. Choice of equipment [4] and of VAP prevention policy may differ among countries [5] and perhaps impacts on costs of mechanical ventilation. This chapter will review past and recent data related to airway heating and humidification, and analyze its relationship with VAP.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. INSERM U722, UFR de Médecine, Université Paris Diderot, Paris 7, Paris, France

    Jean-Damien Ricard & Didier Dreyfuss

  2. Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris, Hôpital Louis Mourier, Service de Réanimation Médico-chirurgicale, 178, rue des Renouillers, F-92700, Colombes, France

    Jean-Damien Ricard & Didier Dreyfuss

  3. Service de Réanimation Médicale, CHU Bordeaux, 3 place Amélie Raba Léon, 33076, Bordeaux cedex, France

    Alexandre Boyer

Authors
  1. Jean-Damien Ricard
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  2. Alexandre Boyer
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  3. Didier Dreyfuss
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jean-Damien Ricard .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Avenida del Parque 2, 3 B, Murcia, 30500, Spain

    Antonio Matías Esquinas

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Ricard, JD., Boyer, A., Dreyfuss, D. (2012). Humidification Devices and Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia: Current Recommendations on Respiratory Equipment. In: Esquinas, A. (eds) Humidification in the Intensive Care Unit. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-02974-5_24

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-02974-5_24

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-02974-5

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