Table 5.

Empiric antimicrobial treatment in VAP

Scenario	Empiric regimen
Most cases	Cefepime or ceftazidime or meropenem
Sepsis or septic shock or necrotizing pneumonia	Vancomycin plus cefepime or ceftazidime or meropenem
MRSA colonization or prior MRSA infection	Vancomycin plus cefepime or ceftazidime or meropenem
Vancomycin-resistant cases	Linezolid
Allergy to penicillin and cephalosporin	Vancomycin plus aztreonam
Recent infection with MDR organism within 90 d	ESBL producer: meropenem

VAP Ventilator-associated pneumonia