Economic analysis of a pediatric ventilator-associated pneumonia prevention initiative in nicaragua.

We performed an economic analysis of an intervention to decrease ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) prevalence in pediatric intensive care units (PICUs) at two Nicaraguan hospitals to determine the cost of the intervention and how effective it needs to be in order to be cost-neutral. A matched cohort study determined differences in costs and outcomes among ventilated patients. VAP cases were matched by sex and age for children older than 28 days and by weight for infants under 28 days old to controls without VAP.