Prevention of pneumonia associated with invasive mechanical ventilation in an intensive care unit

Introduction: ventilator-associated pneumonia represents between 30 % and 70 % of morbidity and mortality rates; its incidence is reflected in increased hospital stay and health care costs for health care institutions. Objective: to determine the nursing care to be applied in adult patients for the prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia in Intensive Care Units. Methods: the study was carried out by means of a research strategy applied in the search engines and databases Google Scholar, Pubmed, Lilacs, SciELO, Cochrane, CINAHL. After the search, 143040 records were identified; 86 articles that met the search criteria: Healthcare - Associated Pneumoniae, Respiration Artificial associated with nursing care; and inclusion criteria were annexed to the study. Results: the following main activities focused on the prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia were determined: Strict hand hygiene with alcohol-based products (ABP) before handling the airway. Control and maintenance of pneumotap pressure (> 20 cm H2O). Avoid supine decubitus at 0°, whenever possible. Aspiration of subglottic secretions. Promote the process of early weaning, in a safe manner. Oral hygiene with chlorhexidine (0,12 – 0,2 %). Conclusions: nursing activities decrease the incidence of pneumonia in mechanical ventilation. Continuous training should be promoted in order to provide care validated under scientific evidence