BACKGROUND: We conducted a systematic review to gain insight into how health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is measured and reported in hospital-acquired bacterial pneumonia (HABP) and ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia (VABP), common causes of disease and death in hospitalized patients.
METHODS: Following a prospectively registered protocol in PROSPERO (CRD42021253579), we searched electronic databases, including MEDLINE (PubMed), EMBASE (Elsevier), and CINAHL (EBSCO) from database inception through October 2022 to identify studies measuring HRQoL in patients with HABP and/or VABP.
RESULTS: Of 2633 studies identified, 5 articles met our inclusion criteria. Of the 5 included studies, 3 were performed in patients with traumatic brain injury; 4 studies were conducted at a single hospital site, and 1 was from a multicenter registry. Measures to assess HRQoL varied between studies and primarily included the Glasgow Outcome Scale–Extended and the 36-item Short Form. All studies were of mid- to high quality and concluded that HABP/VABP decreased multiple domains of HRQoL, although it was difficult to determine whether this was below the background decrease in HRQoL for comorbid medical conditions.
CONCLUSIONS: Overall, there is limited measurement of HRQoL in patients with HABP/VABP; however, existing data indicate that HABP/VABP impairs multiple domains of HRQoL. More research is needed to standardize measurements of HRQoL and its application in patients with HABP/VABP.
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