Abstract

Objectives: We evaluated early and late complications of tracheotomy in patients who underwent tracheotomy for prolonged entubation.

Patients and Methods: This retrospective study included 227 patients (124 males, 103 females; mean age 47.2 years; range 3 to 85 years) who underwent tracheotomy for prolonged entubation during hospitalization at Reanimation and Intensive Care Unit, Coronary Intensive Care Unit, Cardiovascular Surgery Intensive Care Unit, Neurology Unit, and Chest Diseases Unit. There were 10 children and 217 adult patients. Patients who underwent tracheotomy for upper airway obstruction were excluded.

Results: The mean duration of intubation was 10.4 days (range 9 to 13 days). Early complications included hemorrhage (n=15, 6.6%) and subcutaneous emphysema (n=3, 1.3%), and late complications included laryngotracheal stenosis (n=2, 3.2%) and difficult decannulation (n=1, 1.6%). Mortality due to tracheotomy did not occur.

Conclusion: Establishing a tracheotomy in patients with prolonged intubation is a reliable surgical procedure with low complication risk, providing a safe ventilatory respiration.