Ventilator-associated events prevention, learning lessons from the past: A systematic review

Background: Preventing Ventilator-associated events (VAE) is a major challenge. Strictly monitoring for ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is not sufficient to ensure positive outcomes. Therefore, the surveillance definition was updated and a change to the broader VAE was advocated.

Objective: This paper summarizes the scientific efforts assessing VAP preventive bundles and the recent transition in surveillance methods.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review to identify lessons from past clinical studies assessing VAP prevention bundles. We then performed a thorough literature review on the recent VAE surveillance algorithm, highlighting its advantages and limitations.

Conclusion: VAP prevention bundles have historically proven their efficacy and the introduction of the new VAE definition aimed at refining and objectivizing surveillance methods. Randomized controlled trials remain vital to determine the effect of VAE prevention on patient outcomes. We recommend expanding beyond limited VAP prevention strategies towards VAE prevention bundles.