# Early detection and identification of ventilator associated pneumonia

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · 2024 · $198,750

## Abstract

ABSTRACT:
Ventilator associated pneumonias (VAP) are a common complication in mechanically ventilated patients,
occurring more than 250,000 times annually. VAPs occur in a high percentage of mechanically ventilated
patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS, 29%) and COVID-19 (>50%). Timely detection and
identification of the pathogen is key to effective treatment, as is differentiating colonization from acute infection.
The most common options for microbiological diagnosis are cultures of endotracheal aspirate or bronchoalveolar
lavage. Sampling aspirate is non-invasive, but the samples are prone to contamination from the proximal
airways. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) allows for sample collection from the distal lung without proximal airway
contamination, but this technique is invasive and cannot be repeated frequently for surveillance. Here we
propose to develop and test a non-invasive, high-efficiency system for collecting exhaled respiratory aerosols
from mechanically ventilated patients. This system will collect large aerosols, typically generated in the proximal
airways, separately from smaller aerosols, which are typically generated in the very distal airways, thus providing
independent samples from these two distinct compartments of the lung. The collection of a sample from the
distal lung will facilitate the correct diagnosis VAP. The system will allow for short sample collection times,
facilitating repeated measures and timely surveillance, and will be developed and tested in an ex vivo human
lung model using culture and non-culture-based methods. We will also evaluate the utility of collected aerosol
samples for surveying the microbial, fungal, and viral community members in the lung (the lung microbiome).
Misbalances in the bacterial communities (respiratory dysbiosis) have been associated with decreased survival
in mechanically ventilated patients and may play a role in both local and systemic inflammation. Finally, we will
evaluate the use of exhaled aerosol samples to indicate host response to infection and lung injury through the
analysis of biomarkers related to endothelial and epithelial permeability, inflammation, and infection. Markers of
host response and lung injury may help to differentiate simple bacterial colonization from acute infection and
VAP. Pneumonia is the leading cause of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), an often-lethal
complication involving a complex dysregulated inflammatory response that causes loss of endothelial and
epithelial barrier integrity, resulting in pulmonary edema and respiratory failure. Serial biomarker measurements
from distal lung samples may also elucidate the etiology of ARDS after lung infection.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10820510
- **Project number:** 5R21HL163417-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH
- **Principal Investigator:** Timothy E Corcoran
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $198,750
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-04-15 → 2026-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10820510

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10820510, Early detection and identification of ventilator associated pneumonia (5R21HL163417-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10820510. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*