Percutaneous versus conventional tracheostomy in burned patients with inhalation injury

Study sample The authors included the total number of burned patients with inhalation injury who underwent tracheostomy in their burn unit during the dates of the study. There was no report that power calculations were estimated at the outset. Nevertheless, the authors were able to carry out statistical hypothesis tests and detect statistically significant differences. Thirty-seven patients (25 male; age range: 18 to 75) underwent percutaneous tracheostomy between February 2000 and June 2004. These patients were compared with 22 patients (16 male; age range: 21 to 78) who underwent conventional tracheostomy between January 1997 and January 2000. There was no evidence that the study sample was representative of the study population.