Objective The goal of this study was to determine the efficacy of early tracheostomy (i.e., ≤ 10 days of intubation) compared with a late tracheostomy (> 10 days of intubation) with regards to timing, frequency of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), mortality rate, and hospital stay in patients who received decompressive craniectomy. Study design We conducted a retrospective study of data from 168 patients who underwent decompression in the department of critical care medicine at Shifa International Hospital, Islamabad, Pakistan, from January 2017 to December 2017. Materials and methods The study included men and women over the age of 18 years who had undergone tracheostomy following decompressive craniectomy in the intensive care unit as a result of stroke, traumatic brain injury, or acute severe injury. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 23.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, US). We also applied the Chi-square test, and p ≤ 0.05 was considered significant. Results Of 168 patient records reviewed, tracheostomy was performed in 48 patients (21 men, 27 women). In the 48 tracheostomy patients, 15 (31%) were early tracheostomies and 33 (69%) were late tracheostomies. The mean age of patients was 44 ± 11 years. Twenty-eight patients (58.3%) were in the younger age group (age 18 to 45 years) and 20 patients (41.7%) were in the older age group (age > 45 years). Patients who received an early tracheostomy spent significantly less time on a ventilator (≤ 12 days) than those patients receiving a late tracheostomy (> 12 days, p = 0.004). The early tracheostomy group also had a lower incidence rate of VAP than patients with a late tracheostomy (𝑥2 = 7.855, p = 0.005). Patients who received an early tracheostomy had lower mortality rates than those who received late tracheostomies (𝑥2 = 6.158, p = 0.013). Finally, the length of hospital stay was ≤ 15 days for patients who received early tracheostomies; most patients who received a late tracheostomy had a hospital stay of > 15 days (𝑥2 =11.965, p = 0.001). Conclusions Performing a tracheostomy within 10 days of intubation following decompressive craniectomy significantly reduced ventilator time, mortality, the incidence of VAP, and length of hospital stay. Given the potential benefits of early tracheostomy in critical care patients following decompressive craniectomy, physicians should consider early tracheostomy in appropriate cases.
Keywords: craniectomy; decompression; tracheostomy.