Iolanda Jordan

Objectives Ventilator‐associated pneumonia (VAP) is the second most common healthcare‐associated infection in children. The aim of this study was to determine the risk factors for VAP in children and to create a risk score for developing VAP (RISVAP score). Study design It was a prospective observational study, including children who required mechanical ventilation (MV), registered in the multicentre ENVIN‐HELICS database from 2014 to 2019. The regression coefficients of each independent risk factor for VAP were used to create the RISVAP score. Each factor scored 0 if it was absent, or, if it was present, an assigned value from 1 to 7, according to the regression coefficient. Results A total of 3798 patients were included, 97(2.5%) developing VAP. The independent risk factors for VAP were: female (odds ratio [OR]: 1.642, p = 0.024), MV > 4 days (OR: 26.79, p < 0.001), length in pediatric intensive care unit > 7 days (OR: 11.74, p < 0.001), and previous colonisation (OR: 4.18, p < 0.001). The RISVAP was calculated for each patient as the sum of all the independent risk factors. Three risk groups were obtained: low (0–5 points), intermediate (6–12 points), and high risk for VAP (13–16 points). The area under the curve for the final score was 0.905 (95%confidence interval: 0.888–0.923, p < 0.001). Conclusions The RISVAP is the first risk score for VAP in pediatric populations. Using this predictive score, might be helpful to detect vulnerable patients and therefore implement preventative strategies.