Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To predict exhaled air in patients undergoing mechanical ventilation during bedside diagnosis of ventilator-associated pneumonia. METHODS: Air samples were collected through the expiratory branch of the mechanical ventilation circuit during the hospitalization of patients at the intensive care unit of Hospital São José in Criciúma (SC), Brazil. In this study, 83 participants were divided into two groups, namely, the group with and the group without ventilator-associated pneumonia. RESULTS: The analysis of three air patterns revealed a predictive value for the diagnosis of ventilator-associated pneumonia. The analyses of samples from the first 12 hours of invasive mechanical ventilation were able to predict ventilator-associated pneumonia (p = 0.018). However, none of the other air samples collected during hospitalization were useful in identifying the severity or predicting early or late ventilator-associated pneumonia. CONCLUSION: The use of a gas analyzer may be helpful for the early identification of patients admitted to intensive care who will develop ventilator-associated pneumonia.