OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS The ideal timing of tracheostomy varies. This study sought to determine demographic, management, and outcome differences in patients undergoing early tracheostomy (ET) versus late tracheostomy (LT) (<10 days vs. >10 days postintubation, respectively). STUDY DESIGN Retrospective review of the 2008 to 2010 Nationwide Inpatient Sample for patients with extreme severity of i...

OBJECTIVES To review the published/reported experiences and views of parents' whose child has had a tracheostomy. To date, no review has focused specifically on parents' experiences and views of having a child with a tracheostomy. METHODS MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO and Embase were systematically searched from 1990 to 2012 and a review of reference lists was conducted. The review draws on artic...

BACKGROUND Tracheostomy is recommended for patients receiving mechanical ventilation (MV) for 14 days or more in the intensive care unit (ICU). Nevertheless, many patients undergoing prolonged MV remain intubated via the translaryngeal route. The aim of this study was to examine the influence of tracheostomy and persistent translaryngeal intubation on short-term outcomes in patients mechanicall...

We report a patient with severe obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension, with postoperative complications following tracheostomy. His stormy postoperative course is presented with emphasis on glycemic control and hypertension. We present a cautionary tale of a significant reduction in medications to control blood pressure and hyperglycemia following tracheostomy fo...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Weaning parameters are commonly measured through an endotracheal tube in mechanically ventilated patients recovering from acute respiratory failure, however this practice has rarely been evaluated in tracheostomized patients. This study aimed to investigate changes in weaning parameters measured before and after tracheostomy, and to explore whether the data measured aft...

BACKGROUND AND METHODS Tracheostomy is a common procedure in intensive care patient management. The aim of this study was to capture the practice of tracheostomy in Intensive Care Units in the United Kingdom. A postal survey was sent to the lead clinicians of 228 general intensive care units (ICUs) throughout the United Kingdom excluding specialist units. We aimed to identify the current practi...

The author questioned whether an early tracheostomy (within 10 days of intubation) was associated with lower mortality compared with a late tracheostomy for long-term mechanically ventilated patients. The present brief review of eight studies revealed that individuals receiving early tracheostomies had slightly lower mortality rates compared with those who received late tracheostomies. More sta...

Tracheoesophageal fistula and tracheo-arterial fistula are both uncommon but life-threatening complications after a tracheostomy. The most common source of a major hemorrhage is from the tracheo-innominate artery fistula. Most tracheo-arterial fistulas occur within the first 3 weeks after tracheostomy. We describe a very rare case of a patient who developed both a tracheoesophageal fistula and ...