By Mohamad F. El-Khatib, MB, PhD, Salah Zeineldine, MD, Chakib Ayoub, MD, MBA, Ahmad Husari, MD, Pierre K. Bou-Khalil, MD Background Ventilator-associated pneumonia is the most common hospital-acquired infection among patients receiv- ing mechanical ventilation in an intensive care unit. Different initiatives for the prevention of ventilator-associated pneumo- nia have been developed and recommended. Objective To evaluate knowledge of critical care providers (physicians, nurses, and respiratory therapists in the inten- sive care unit) about evidence-based guidelines for prevent- ing ventilator-associated pneumonia. Methods Ten physicians, 41 nurses, and 18 respiratory thera- pists working in the intensive care unit of a major tertiary care university hospital center completed an anonymous questionnaire on 9 nonpharmacological guidelines for pre- vention of ventilator-associated pneumonia. Results The mean (SD) total scores of physicians, nurses, and respiratory therapists were 80.2% (11.4%), 78.1% (10.6%), and 80.5% (6%), respectively, with no significant differences between them. Furthermore, within each category of health care professionals, the scores of professionals with less than 5 years of intensive care experience did not differ signifi- cantly from the scores of professionals with more than 5 years of intensive care experience. Conclusions A health care delivery model that includes physicians, nurses, and respiratory therapists in the intensive care unit can result in an adequate level of knowledge on evi- dence-based nonpharmacological guidelines for the preven- tion of ventilator-associated pneumonia. (American Journal of Critical Care. 2010;19:272-277) 272 AJCC AMERICAN JOURNAL OF CRITICAL CARE, May 2010, Volume 19, No. 3 www.ajcconline.org CRITICAL CARE CLINICIANS’ KNOWLEDGE OF EVIDENCE-BASED G UIDELINES FOR P REVENTING VENTILATOR-ASSOCIATED PNEUMONIA Pulmonary Critical Care ©2009 American Association of Critical-Care Nurses doi: 10.4037/ajcc2009131 C E 1.0 Hour Notice to CE enrollees: A closed-book, multiple-choice examination following this article tests your understanding of the following objectives: 1. Identify 3 evidence-based guidelines for pre- venting ventilator-associated pneumonia. 2. Identify 2 knowledge deficits of participants in this research study. 3. Discuss the results of this research study and the implications for critical care nursing. To read this article and take the CE test online, visit www.ajcconline.org and click “CE Articles in This Issue.” No CE test fee for AACN members. by guest on April 1, 2016 ajcc.aacnjournals.org Downloaded from