Hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) is a medical issue that causes concerns among healthcare workers: it lengthens patients’ stay in a hospital and can be followed by severe health deterioration. The article Hospital Acquired Pneumonia Prevention Initiative-2: Incidence of nonventilator hospital-acquired pneumonia in the United States by Baker and Quinn (2018) focuses on the nonventilator form of HAP (NV-HAP). The authors use numerical and statistical data to study the problem and cover the issue of pneumonia prevention. Their profound and comprehensive scientific work is discussed in detail in the present paper.
The introduction of the article provides a clear background of the study, its hypothesis, and its goals. As the risks and consequences of NV-HAP do not receive enough attention from the medical specialists, Baker and Quinn (2018) aimed to identify the incidence of NV-HAP in American hospitals and define the amount of missed hospital care associated with pneumonia prevention. They suggest that many American patients are at high risk of contracting NV-HAP and that their research may serve as the basis for further analysis of the issue (Baker & Quinn, 2018). By referring to the previous studies, the researchers create a solid foundation for their quantitative work.
The article refers to more than 50 works from related fields of medicine. Some of the sources appear to be outdated, though they are mostly used to compare the HAP-related situation earlier and nowadays. It is important to emphasize that almost all the sources are reliable peer-reviewed articles; besides, Baker and Quinn (2018) cite the World Health Organization report and Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project. Nevertheless, the researchers admit that there is not enough available data about preventive measures.
The methods used in the research work fully correspond with its goals. Numbers and statistics were gained through the monitoring of pneumonia cases in 21 American hospitals. This method allowed evaluating the incidence of NV-HAP and identifying the percentage of its occurrence in different medical departments. At the same time, more attention could be given to the second part of the article aimed to assess missed hospital care. The authors analyzed five therapeutic interventions and calculated the percentage of cases when medical care was performed 24 hours before the diagnosis of pneumonia. They do not provide much statistical data related to this aspect compared to the issue of incidence. However, the figure demonstrating the percentage of missed hospital care cases is an effective visualization of the importance of certain preventive measures for reducing the risk of pneumonia in hospital settings.
The results of the study are clear and significant, as they illustrate which departments demand special attention to reduce the risk of NV-HAP. According to the statistic, 23.7% of NV-HAP cases were acquired in an intensive care unit, but the majority were associated with medical-surgical departments (43.1%) telemetry (8.5%), and progressive care units (7.2%) (Baker & Quinn, 2018, p. 4). As for the intervention cases, most of them were connected with bed elevation to 30°-45° (64.6%); 28.7% of patients reported being out of bed before the pneumonia diagnosis (Baker & Quinn, 2018, p. 4). The use of a table and a figure make the results easy to understand and analyze.
The discussion part of the article is extensive and detailed. Referring to the numerical results, Baker and Quinn (2018) state the medical, social, and economic impact of the issue. They also emphasize that it is important to focus on both modifiable and nonmodifiable risk factors; however, they do not name specific preventive measures. The authors confirm that their research was limited by possible bias in the selection of participating hospitals. At the same time, they recommend continuing the assessment of NV-HAP cases and developing pneumonia prevention standards in further research.
Different aspects of this issue, such as the identification and prevention of NV-HAP, were covered in other scientific sources. For example, Giuliano et al. (2018) focused on the incidence of NV-HAP cases. According to their results, the incidence rate is estimated at 1.6% (Giuliano et al., 2018, p. 322). The researchers share the concerns of Baker and Quinn (2018) about the scale and seriousness of NV-HAP. They add that in comparison to ventilator-associated pneumonia, NV-HAP leads to a longer stay in a hospital, higher mortality, and more costs.
There are related studies that develop the discoveries of the present research. Burdshall (2020) confirms the idea of Baker and Quinn (2018) about the significance of nonmodifiable and modifiable risk factors. She discusses them in a more specified way and mentions that inadequate nutrition, alcohol and drug use, difficulties with swallowing, and other factors may significantly increase the risk of contracting pneumonia (Burdshall, 2020). Another important idea connected to the topic is that pneumonia prevention depends on the collaborative actions of medical personnel, family members, and the patients themselves.
In conclusion, accurate calculations based on profound preliminary research demonstrate that NV-HAP risks remain nowadays. The article by Baker and Quinn (2018) is easy to read and can be understood by both medical specialists and the general audience. However, more attention could be paid to the issue of disease prevention. The therapeutic intervention forms could be studied in more detail, and specific suggestions to reduce the risk of pneumonia would also be appropriate. In general, this quantitative study is a bright example of how the researchers address an important issue with the help of numerical data.
References
Baker, D., & Quinn, B. (2018). Hospital acquired pneumonia prevention initiative-2: Incidence of nonventilator hospital-acquired pneumonia in the United States. American Journal of Infection Control, 46(1), 2–7. Web.
Burdsall, D. (2020). Non-ventilator health care-associated pneumonia (NV-HAP): Long-term care. American Journal of Infection Control, 48(5), A14–A16.
Giuliano, K.K., Baker, D., & Quinn, B. (2018). The epidemiology of nonventilator hospital-acquired pneumonia in the United States. American Journal of Infection Control, 46(3), 322–327. Web.