Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia (HAP) and Ventilator-Associated Event (VAE) Empiric Therapy

Updated: Sep 29, 2020
Author: Darvin Scott Smith, MD, MSc, DTM&H, FIDSA; Chief Editor: Thomas E Herchline, MD 

Empiric Therapy Regimens

Empiric therapeutic regimens for hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) and ventilator-associated event (formerly known as ventilator-associated pneumonia [VAP]) are outlined below, including those for early onset, late onset, and multidrug-resistant (MDR) factors.[1, 2, 3, 4]

Definitions

Definitions of HAP and VAE are as follows:

  • HAP: Diagnosis made more than 48 hours after admission and did not appear to be incubating at the time of admission
  • VAE: Diagnosis made 48-72 hours after endotracheal intubation

Hospital-acquired pneumonia or ventilator-associated event

Regimens for early onset (< 5 days since admission) and no MDR risk factors are as follows:

Regimens for late onset (≥5 days since admission), MDR risk factors present, or diagnosis of HCAP are as follows:

PLUS

PLUS

Duration of therapy:

  • If clinical improvement is noted in 48-72 hours and cultures are negative, consider stopping antibiotics
  • If clinical improvement is noted in 48-72 hours and cultures are positive, adjust regimen per susceptibilities and continue antibiotics for 7-8 days
  • If there is no clinical improvement and cultures are negative, look for alternative diagnoses
  • If there is no clinical improvement and cultures are positive, adjust regimen per susceptibilities