[Abbreviated guidelines for prevention, diagnostics, and therapy of nosocomial pneumonia].

BACKGROUND: Nosocomial pneumonia is a frequent nosocomial infection and the most common one in the intensive care unit. Nosocomial pneumonia is associated with a significant morbidity and mortality and therefore the outcome of patients with this complication becomes worse. Nosocomial infections are within the responsibility of predominantly the treating hospital after introduction of the DRGs also into the German health care system, and the occurrence of a nosocomial infection can also substantially stress the hospital budget.

PURPOSE: Prevention, diagnosis and a severity-guided therapeutic approach are therefore inevitable parts of infectious concepts within the hospital. This abbreviated version of the German recommendations for prevention, diagnosis, and therapy of nosocomial pneumonia therefore aims at a larger readership and provides clinical pathways and worksheets to further improve health care and documentation of nosocomial pneumonia.