Prepared and published by Update Software Ltd . All rights reserved. A substantive amendment to this systematic review was last made on 07 February 2000. Cochrane reviews are regularly checked and updated if necessary.
Pneumonia is an important cause of mortality in intensive care units.
Although not all deaths in patients with this form of pneumonia are directly attributable to infections, it has been shown to contribute to mortality in intensive care units independently of other factors that are also strongly associated with such deaths. The objective of this review was to assess the effects of antibiotics for preventing respiratory tract infections and overall mortality in adults receiving intensive care. We searched Medline, the Cochrane Acute Respiratory Infections Group trials register, proceedings of scientific meetings and reference lists of articles from January 1984 to December 1999. We also contacted investigators in the field. At least two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed trial quality.