Influence of airway humidification on the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia

Objective To evaluate the effect of modified airway humidification on the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia.Methods Heat and moisture exchanger (HME) integrated with continuous airway humidification by micro-pump and traditional method of were provided for the 25 patients from January to December 2009 in the experimental group,and airway humidification with heating humidifier(HH) for 20 patients from January to December 2008 in the control group,respectively.The patients' body temperature,blood leukocyte count,neutrophil count,sputum culture results,X-ray results,the incidence of sputum callus formation were recorded and compared between the two groups.Results The incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia was significantly lower in the experimental group than that in the control group(16% vs.45%, χ2=4.55, P0.05).Conclusion HME integrated with continuous airway humidification by micro-pump is more effective to prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia.