Prevention of pneumonia in an intensive care unit

In a randomized multicenter clinical trial on antibiotic prophylaxis, 1,319 patients in 23 ICUs were enrolled over a 4-month period. The end-point of the study was the prevention of early onset pneumonia (EOP), defined as acquired pneumonia diagnosed within 4 days of ICU admission; this accounted for greater than 50% of overall pneumonia. Patients eligible for the study were divided into three groups which received either cefoxitin (2 g iv for three doses/8 h), penicillin G (2 million U iv for four doses/6 h), or no antibiotic (control group). In the overall population, the incidence of EOP was 6.1% in the prophylaxis recipients vs. 7.2% in the control group (a 15.3% reduction). No statistically different rates of pneumonia or death were found among the groups. Patients with impaired reflexes on admission or prolonged ventilatory support were noted to have a lower incidence of EOP and an improved outcome when treated with cefoxitin.