Indications for antimicrobial therapy in the 57 patients on prior antibiotics at the time of the clinical diagnosis of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP)
| Indications for antimicrobials | Cases n | Duration of therapy at VAP diagnosis days |
| Community-acquired respiratory tract infection | 21 | 6.0±3.2 |
| Sepsis | 16 | 5.8±2.9 |
| Prophylaxis before and/or after surgery >24 h or current | 9 | 4.8±3.2 |
| Peritonitis | 2 | 9.0±1.4 |
| Miscellaneous | 10 | 5.1±5.2 |
Data are presented as mean±sem.