World-Wide Variation in Incidence of Staphylococcus aureus Associated Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia: A Meta-Regression

• Main Author: James C. Hurley
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2018-02-01
• Series: Microorganisms
• Subjects: intensive care unit; geographic variation; ventilator-associated pneumonia; Staphylococcus aureus; MRSA
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/6/1/18
• ISSN: 2076-2607

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is a common Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia (VAP) isolate. The objective here is to define the extent and possible reasons for geographic variation in the incidences of S. aureus-associated VAP, MRSA-VAP and overall VAP. A meta-regression model of S. aureus-associated VAP incidence per 1000 Mechanical Ventilation Days (MVD) was undertaken using random effects methods among publications obtained from a search of the English language literature. This model incorporated group level factors such as admission to a trauma ICU, year of publication and use of bronchoscopic sampling towards VAP diagnosis. The search identified 133 publications from seven worldwide regions published over three decades. The summary S. aureus-associated VAP incidence was 4.5 (3.9–5.3) per 1000 MVD. The highest S. aureus-associated VAP incidence is amongst reports from the Mediterranean (mean; 95% confidence interval; 6.1; 4.1–8.5) versus that from Asian ICUs (2.1; 1.5–3.0). The incidence of S. aureus-associated VAP varies by up to three-fold (for the lowest versus highest incidence) among seven geographic regions worldwide, whereas the incidence of VAP varies by less than two-fold. Admission to a trauma unit is the most important group level correlate for S. aureus-associated VAP.