BURDEN, RISK FACTORS, AND OUTCOMES OF VENTILATOR-ASSOCIATED PNEUMONIA IN INDIAN INTENSIVE CARE UNITS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Background: Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia (VAP) is a major healthcare associated infection among patients with artificial airway management and burden of VAP varies among ICUs in India. This systematic review focuses on VAP occurring between the years 2015 to 2025 in India. Reported studies are expected to include data on Frequency, Microbiology, Risk Factors, Outcomes and Prevention of VAP. This review contains a random effects meta-analysis of prevalence for studies that included both numerator and denominator values. Methods: The databases PubMed and Publisher were searched for a combination of terms Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia, India, Intensive Care Unit, Incidence, Risk Factors, Mortality, Microbiology, and Antimicrobial Resistance. Included studies were Indian ICU studies of adults published between 2015 to 2025 that included original VAP data. Quality of the included studies was assessed through design appropriate criteria for observational studies. Six Cohort studies including 2153 mechanically ventilated patients and 344 VAP cases were included in the prevalence random effects meta-analysis.