nvic academy

Over the last year, several papers have shed light on the management of severe infections and sepsis in intensive care units (ICU). With this overview, we will highlight the important new findings with a focus on infectious disease and sepsis in critically ill patients. The concept of healthcare-associated pneumonia (HCAP) tried to highlight the increasing prevalence of multidrug-resistant pathogens [1]. The majority of the studies have been conducted outside Europe. Vallés et al. conducted a prospective, multicentre study in Spain [2] in which the etiology of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and HCAP was comparable, as S. pneumoniae was the most frequently found pathogen. Therefore, based on this European study, empirical antibiotic therapy recommended for CAP would be appropriate for 90 % of patients with HCAP, at least in that population, and clearly differs from experiences in countries with higher rates of resistant pathogens.