Pneumonia - Hospital-Acquired Disease Summary

Hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) is defined as pneumonia occurring ≥48 hours after admission and excluding any infection that is incubating at the time of admission.
Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is described as pneumonia occurring >48-72 hours after endotracheal intubation and within 48 hours after removal of endotracheal tube.
Early-onset HAP or VAP is the pneumonia occurring within the first 4 days of hospitalization that may be cause by antibiotic-sensitive bacteria that usually carries a better diagnosis.
Late-onset HAP or VAP is the pneumonia occurring after ≥5 days. It is likely caused by multidrug-resistant pathogens associated with increased mortality and morbidity.
Antibiotic therapy should be started within 4 hours after diagnosis of hospital-acquired pneumonia has been established. Prompt initiation of appropriate initial antibiotic therapy can decrease mortality. When deciding to start empiric therapy, treatment should be microbiologically defined rather than empiric therapy-based.

For further information regarding the management of Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia, please refer to Disease Algorithm for the Treatment Guideline.