Multidrug-resistant VAP before and during the COVID-19 pandemic among hospitalized patients in a tertiary private hospital

Background:There is limited data on ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) and multidrug-resistant VAP (MDR VAP) among COVID-19 patients.Methods:A retrospective study in a single, tertiary, private hospital in the Philippines was conducted comparing the incidence, profile, and patient outcomes of MDR VAP during the pre-COVID-19 (2018–2019) and COVID-19 (2020–2021) periods.Results:In total, 80/362 (22%) patients developed VAP, 27/204 (33.75%) from pre-COVID-19 and 53/158 (66.25%) from the COVID-19 period, respectively. The majority were male [20/27 (74%) vs 34/53 (64%)], with a median age of 66 (range 35–90) and 67 (range 32–92) years in each period, respectively. Comorbidities were similar, except cardiovascular disease (14/27 vs 11/53 patients, p-value 0.005) and chronic lung disease (14/27 vs 9/53 patients, p-value 0.0012). VAP incidence density was 19.3/1000 and 27.8/1000 ventilator days (p-value 0.9819)]; median length of stay before VAP for pre- and COVID-19 periods was 17 and 10 days, respectively (p-value