Ventilator-associated pneumonia in patients on prolonged mechanical ventilation: description, risk factors for mortality, and performance of the SOFA score.

Objective: Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a serious complication of mechanical ventilation (MV). However, data on VAP in patients on prolonged MV (PMV) are scarce. We aimed to describe the characteristics of VAP patients on PMV and to identify factors associated with mortality.