Declines in the incidence of pneumonia are likely attributable to the implementation of pneumonia intervention measures, such as technical training for village doctors, health education to parents, improved pneumonia surveillance and case management, and the use of vaccines against pneumonia in the routine immunization program (namely measles and pertussis).
This reduction in LOS was also noted after implementation of pneumonia clinical pathway [ 20, 21].
Despite this, these results demonstrate the benefit of including lung ultrasound in training and in implementation of guidelines for pneumonia diagnosis and treatment in Nepal and other resource-limited countries.
The studies by Carusone et al. and Lohfield et al. [ 14, 16, 17] evaluated the implementation of pathways for pneumonia and UTI, respectively.
To assess the implementation of selected ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) prevention strategies, and to learn how VAP is diagnosed in the ICUs of Southern Spain.
Implementation of a ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) bundle as a performance improvement project in the critical care units for all mechanically ventilated patients aiming to decrease the VAP rates over the study period at four major teaching hospitals in Damascus.
These analyses did not demonstrate an association between level of pathway implementation and patient outcomes with exception of pneumonia (p-value for trend 0.006).
Of note, there was no significant level or slope change in the rate of quinolone use after implementation of the OSA program for pneumonia or AECB, after controlling for confounders.
Although we were not able to examine whether the order set quality score was associated with patient outcomes, the implementation of sedation, sepsis, ventilator-associated pneumonia and weaning protocols have all been associated with improved patient outcomes and decreased costs [ 30- 39].
Following the launch of the plan, the Global Task Force on pneumonia, comprising UNICEF, WHO, other UN agencies, NGOs and academic institutions, will coordinate efforts to support its implementation, particularly in countries with a high burden of pneumonia.
Through identification of preventable risk factors, the AIR Study aims to facilitate future research and implementation of targeted interventions to reduce the high burden of pneumonia in SSA.
