Tracheostomy in special groups of critically ill patients: Who, when, and where?

Aisling Longworth; David Veitch; Sandeep Gudibande; Tony Whitehouse; Catherine Snelson; Tonny Veenith

doi:10.4103/0972-5229.182202

Tracheostomy in special groups of critically ill patients: Who, when, and where?

Indian J Crit Care Med. 2016 May;20(5):280-4. doi: 10.4103/0972-5229.182202.

Authors

Aisling Longworth¹, David Veitch¹, Sandeep Gudibande², Tony Whitehouse², Catherine Snelson², Tonny Veenith³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Critical Care Medicine, Intensive Care Unit, University College Hospital, London, UK.
² Department of Critical Care Medicine, Critical Care Unit, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, University Hospital of Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, UK.
³ Department of Critical Care Medicine, Critical Care Unit, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, University Hospital of Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, UK; Department of Medicine, Division of Anaesthesia, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.

Abstract

Tracheostomy is one of the most common procedures undertaken in critically ill patients. It offers many theoretical advantages over translaryngeal intubation. Recent evidence in a heterogeneous group of critically ill patients, however, has not demonstrated a benefit for tracheostomy, in terms of mortality, length of stay in Intensive Care Unit (ICU), or incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia. It may be a beneficial intervention in articular subsets of ICU patients. In this article, we will focus on the evidence for the timing of tracheostomy and its effect on various subgroups of patients in critical care.

Keywords: Complications; mechanical ventilation; percutaneous tracheostomy; surgical tracheostomy; tracheostomy; translaryngeal intubation; ventilator-associated pneumonia.

Publication types

Review