ReviewCureus2026
Bacterial Pathogens Causing Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia in Mechanically Ventilated Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Review in Cureus, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
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Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundVentilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) remains a major healthcare-associated infection in pediatric and neonatal intensive care units (PICUs and NICUs). The microbiological etiology of pediatric VAP varies considerably across geographic regions, and a comprehensive global quantitative synthesis spanning both PICU and NICU settings using modern quality appraisal frameworks is lacking.
objectivesTo estimate the global pooled prevalence of individual bacterial pathogens causing VAP in mechanically ventilated children and to characterize the burden of multidrug-resistant (MDR) organisms.
methodsFollowing PRISMA 2020 guidelines and a prospective International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO)-registered protocol, we searched MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane CENTRAL, and Web of Science for studies published between January 2015 and December 2025. Studies reporting bacterial pathogens isolated from children (0-18 years) on invasive mechanical ventilation for >= 48 hours were eligible. Pooled prevalence proportions and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using the DerSimonian-Laird random-effects model after logit transformation. Subgroup analyses were performed by data reporting type (patient-based versus isolate-based). The certainty of evidence was evaluated using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) approach.
resultsEighteen studies encompassing 1,524 VAP episodes across 13 countries were included. Gram-negative bacteria predominated, with a pooled prevalence of 76.30% (95% CI: 65.55-84.49%; I² = 93.0%). Gram-positive bacteria accounted for 13.73% (95% CI: 8.85-20.69%; I² = 88.2%). The most frequent individual pathogens were
conclusionsGram-negative bacilli, particularly
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