Postoperative patients are among the groups at highest risk for developing ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in ICU patients. The Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP), a national quality partnership, is targeting VAP as one of 4 types of major surgical complications to prevent. What causes VAP? Most VAP is thought to result from aspirating oropharyngeal secretions into the lungs. Endotracheal intubation is a…
