Attenuated hypocholesterolemia following severe trauma signals risk for late ventilator-associated pneumonia, ventilator dependency, and death: a retrospective study of consecutive patients

Background Post-traumatic ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a substantial clinical problem that increases hospital costs and typically adds to the duration of mechanical ventilation. We evaluated the impact of VAP on ventilator days. We also assessed 48-hour total blood cholesterol (TC) and other potential risk factors for the development of VAP.