Ventilator associated Pneumonia is the most common nosocomial infection in intensive care units. The aim of our study was to describe the epidemiological profile of the VAP and to identify the main risk factors.

This is a prospective descriptive study conducted from June 3, 2012 to December 31, 2013, in the surgical intensive care unit of the university hospital of Oran. This study was followed by a case-control study nested in the cohort of patients hospitalized during the same period.

Among the 305 patients corresponding the criteria of definition, 60 had contracted at least one ventilator associated pneumonia, that is to say cumulative incidence of 19.7%. In multivariate analysis, the ventilator associated Pneumonia was significantly related to a duration of ventilation equal to or greater than 18 days (ORa=2.64; [1.1–6.0]), presence of central venous catheter infection (ORa=10.1; [1.9–51.6]). Acinetobacter baumannii was the most frequently isolated organism (30.4%) with 82.1% of strains with simultaneous resistance to imipenem and ceftazidime.

The prospective study of ventilator associated pneumonia conducted in adult intensive care unit is the first of its kind at our university hospital. It allowed us to know the incidence of these pneumonia, which is relatively high compared to some developed countries.