Inflammation and the host response to injury, a large-scale collaborative project: Patient-oriented research core - Standard operating procedures for clinical care. II. Guidelines for prevention, diagnosis and treatment of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in the trauma patient

Ventilator-associated pneumonia remains a common, difficult clinical problem in the trauma ICU. This paper describes the current procedures used by the clinical centers participating in The Inflammation and Host Response to Injury Large Scale Collaborative Program. It is evidence based where good evidence exists and relies on expert opinion where there is a void. The goal of this SOP was to standardize the management of injured patients across multiple study sites. The value of SOP adherence is to minimize variability in clinical care and study outcomes on large numbers of similar patients. It should be appreciated that this SOP is dynamic and will undergo change as new data are identified.