Clinical Study on VAP Published in Journal of Critical Care

The Journal of Critical Care has published in its June 2011 edition the findings of a clinical study on mechanical ventilation titled, "A Polyurethane Cuffed Endotracheal Tube is Associated with Decreased Rates of Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia."

The purpose of the study was to determine whether the use of a polyurethane-cuffed endotracheal tube (Microcuff, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Roswell, Ga.) would result in a decrease in ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) rate.

The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan including Melissa A. Miller, MD, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine; Jennifer L. Arndt, MS, CIC; Mark A. Konkle, MPA, RRT; Carol E. Chenoweth, MD; Theodore J. Iwashyna, MD, PhD; Kevin R. Flaherty, MD, MS; and Robert C. Hyzy, MD. This study was partially supported by Kimberly-Clark Corporation; see details in the disclosure statement in the study article.

The study is available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0883944110001632