Preventing Infection and Common Causes of VAC

Grace Lee, MD, MPH, associate medical director, Infection Control, Boston Children’s Hospital, discusses the current VAP bundle and its focus on infectious conditions as well as the need for a VAC bundle that will prevent other causes of VAC for patients on the ventilator.

Interview Transcript (slightly modified for readability).

“The current ventilator bundle, sometimes called the VAP bundle, targets infection, [such as] the prevention of pneumonia as a cause of ventilator-associated conditions on the vent. While that VAP bundle will be an important element of prevention, we understand that VAC is a much broader entity and that includes both infectious and noninfectious conditions. Because of that, we really need to think more broadly about a VAC prevention bundle.

Not only do we need to think about preventing infection, but we also need to think about how to prevent these other common causes of VAC for patients who are on the ventilator.”