Description

Cardiac arrest (CA) survivors are frequently admitted to intensive care units. Despite improvements in management techniques, the prognosis of these patients remains poor, with mortality exceeding 90% for out-of-hospital CA and around 80% for in-hospital CA, along with a high risk of severe neurological issue.

The management of these patients in intensive care requires the use of invasive mechanical ventilation. Complications occurring under mechanical ventilation have been the subject of many researches. Early bacterial pneumonia or ventilator-acquired pneumonia appears as the primary cause of respiratory worsening, and several studies have already focused on their incidence and prevention. However, studies on the benefits of antibiotic therapy or antibiotic prophylaxis for early pulmonary infections are of tricky analysis, particularly when they do not consider respiratory condition or mortality for their primary outcome measure.

A new definition of complications associated with mechanical ventilation (VAEs) has been established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) since 2013. It offers a more relevant tool for monitoring the impact of preventive measures on morbidity and mortality, with a more objective definition that goes beyond just tracking ventilator-associated pneumonia.

Several studies have since analyzed the incidence and impact of VAEs on cohorts of intensive care patients, confirming the association between VAEs and morbidity and mortality. However, to our knowledge, none have targeted a population of cardiac arrest survivors.