Probiotics for disease prevention: a focus on ventilator-associated pneumonia.

Objective: To summarize published data regarding the safety and efficacy of probiotics in the prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP).

Data Sources: PubMed databases (January 2000-August 2011) were searched and a bibliographic review of published articles was performed to identify original reports of probiotic administration for the prevention of VAP using the search terms probiotics, synbiotics, and ventilator-associated pneumonia.

Study Selection And Data Extraction: Two pilot studies, 2 randomized controlled trials (RCTs), and 1 meta-analysis have addressed probiotic use for VAP prevention and were included in the review.

Evaluation of glycemic control metrics for intensive care unit populations.

Glycemic control is an important quality indicator in the management of intensive care unit patients. Tight glycemic control and/or insulin infusion protocols may reduce complications and improve outcomes in certain intensive care unit patients. Unfortunately, a consistent method of describing glycemic control has not been used for this population.