A qualitative assessment of the diagnosis and management of ventilator-associated pneumonia among critical care clinicians exploring opportunities for diagnostic stewardship.

Background: Prompt diagnosis and intervention for ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is critical but can lead to overdiagnosis and overtreatment.

Objectives: We investigated healthcare provider (HCP) perceptions and challenges associated with VAP diagnosis, and we sought to identify opportunities for diagnostic stewardship.

Methods: We conducted a qualitative study of 30 HCPs at a tertiary-care hospital.

Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia: Diagnostic Test Stewardship and Relevance of Culturing Practices.

Purpose Of Review: Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is one of the most common infections in the ICU. Prompt diagnosis is vital as mortality increases with delayed antibiotic therapy. However, accurate diagnosis is challenging due to non-specific clinical features in a complicated patient cohort.

A Case of Bartonella Quintana Culture-Negative Endocarditis.

BACKGROUND Culture-negative Bartonella quintana endocarditis is challenging to diagnose and is associated with high mortality rates. Diagnostic confirmation of Bartonella quintana infection requires specialized assays, as identifying Bartonella henselae endocarditis by serology can be difficult due to the high rate of serological cross-reactivity. This is a case report of culture-negative Bartonella quintana endocarditis that was diagnosed with epidemiologic data, histology, and nucleic acid amplification testing.