Developing a Gene Expression Model for Predicting Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia in Trauma Patients: A Pilot Study

BackgroundVentilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) carries significant mortality and morbidity. Predicting which patients will become infected could lead to measures to reduce the incidence of VAP. Methodology/Principal FindingsThe goal was to begin constructing a model for VAP prediction in critically-injured trauma patients, and to identify differentially expressed genes in patients who go on to develop VAP compared to similar patients who do not. Gene expression profiles of lipopolysaccharide stimulated blood cells in critically injured trauma patients that went on to develop ventilator-associated pneumonia (n = 10) was compared to those that never developed the infection (n = 10). Eight hundred and ten genes were differentially expressed between the two groups (ANOVA, P Conclusions/SignificanceA logistic regression model using cross-validation accurately predicted patients that developed ventilator-associated pneumonia and should now be tested on a larger cohort of trauma patients.