Patient Guides on VAP Available

April 6, 2009

Last year the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America and the Infectious Disease Society of America (SHEA) released guidelines on the prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia, which AARC endorsed. Now the group has come out with patient guides to understanding VAP and other hospital-acquired infections (HAI).

The patient guides describe the HAI conditions and help them understand what they are and how they are prevented. Patient guides are available in regular English font, a large font version and a Spanish version. The CDC participated in the translation effort. They are all available for free download.

AARC President Tim Myers last year participated in reviewing the SHEA guideline on VAP. He said, “The guidelines were very well written and organized, and were supported with evidence-based medicine where applicable.”

Myers said the strength that the AARC CPG Steering Committee reviewers brought to the review, and eventually the document, was current evidence in the literature, some important technical nuances, and our Association’s own evidence-based CPG, ‘Care of the Ventilator Circuit And Its Relation To Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia.’

While the patient guides are available for free download, you may also co-brand with your organization’s logo by contacting Valerie Deloney at vdeloney@shea-online.org.