Silver-Coated Endotracheal Tube to Reduce Ventilator Associated Pneumonia (VAP)

Nosocomial pneumonia is the leading cause of death from hospital-acquired infections.Ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) develops in a significant percentage of patients who have been ventilated for at least 48 hours, and is associated with high morbidity, mortality,and financial costs. Silver is a well-characterized antimicrobial agent, and is the active agent in multiple medical products used to reduce or control infection. Bard has developed a proprietary antimicrobial ETT, manufactured with a hydrophilic coating containing a fine dispersion of silver salts. This study compare the incidence and time to onset of VAP in patients intubated for \>=24 hours with a proprietary silver-coated ETT versus those intubated for \>= 24 hours with a standard non-coated ETT.