Usefulness of point-of-care multiplex PCR to rapidly identify pathogens responsible for ventilator-associated pneumonia and their resistance to antibiotics: an observational study

Table 2 Clinical characteristics of the 93 suspected ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) episodes

Characteristic	Episodes
MV duration before VAP, days	9 (4–20)
Prior antimicrobial treatment	75 (81)
Broad-spectrum antimicrobials	52 (56)
Parameters at VAP onset
Temperature, °C	37.2 (36.1–38.2)
White blood cell count, Giga/L	15.5 (10.3–23.1)
Neutrophil count, Giga/L	13.1 (8.1–19.1)
PaO₂/FiO₂ ratio, mmHg	130 (84–179)
mCPIS	5 (4–7)
Pathogen responsible for VAP^a
Pseudomonas aeruginosa	46 (49)
Other non-fermenting GNB	9 (10)
Enterobacteriaceae	53 (57)
Escherichia coli	17 (18)
Enterobacter spp.	1 (1)
Klebsiella pneumoniae	12 (13)
Klebsiella oxytoca	2 (2)
Klebsiella variicola	1 (1)
Proteus mirabilis	6 (6)
Morganella morganii	1 (1)
Serratia marcescens	1 (1)
Citrobacter freundii	1 (1)
Proteus vulgaris	1 (1)
Staphylococcus aureus	4 (4)
Haemophilus influenzae	3 (3)
Enterococcus spp.	2 (2)
Polymicrobial oropharyngeal flora	3 (3)
Miscellaneous^b	3 (3)
Negative BAL	2 (2)
Positive blood culture	5 (5)
Days of antimicrobial treatment	8 (6–8)

Results are expressed as median (IQR) or n (%)
MV mechanical ventilation, VAP ventilator-associated pneumonia, mCPIS Modified Clinical Pulmonary Infection Score [14], BALF bronchoalveolar lavage fluid
^aAccording to conventional microbiological cultures; the total number of pathogens exceeds 93 because 27 patients had at least two pathogens responsible for VAP
^bAchromobacter xylosoxidans, Kluyvera ascorbata or Raoultella ornithinolytica, one each

ISSN: 1364-8535