Tracheostomy intervention in intubated COVID positive patients: A survey of current clinical practice among ENT surgeons

Introduction The COVID‐19 pandemic has resulted in an unprecedented need for critical care intervention. Prolonged intubation and mechanical ventilation has resulted in the need for tracheostomy in some patients. The purpose of this international survey was to assess optimal timing, technique and ou...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Head & Neck 2020-07, Vol.42 (7), p.1382-1385
Main Authors: D'Souza, Ayman, Simo, Ricard, D'Souza, Alwyn, Vaz, Francis, Prior, Andrew, Kanegaonkar, Rahul
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Airway Management
Airway Management - methods
Coronavirus Infections - epidemiology
COVID-19
Critical Care - methods
Female
Head and neck
Hospitals, University
Humans
Intensive Care Units
Internationality
Internet
Intubation
Intubation, Intratracheal - methods
Male
Mechanical ventilation
Ostomy
Otolaryngology - methods
Pandemics
Pandemics - statistics & numerical data
Pneumonia, Viral - epidemiology
Respiration, Artificial - methods
Risk Assessment
Special Issue
Surveys and Questionnaires
Time Factors
Tracheostomy
Tracheostomy - methods
Tracheotomy
Tracheotomy - methods
Treatment Outcome
United Kingdom
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Summary:Introduction The COVID‐19 pandemic has resulted in an unprecedented need for critical care intervention. Prolonged intubation and mechanical ventilation has resulted in the need for tracheostomy in some patients. The purpose of this international survey was to assess optimal timing, technique and outcome for this intervention. Methods An online survey was generated. Otorhinolaryngologists from both the United Kingdom and Abroad were polled with regards to their experience of tracheostomy in COVID‐19 positive ventilated patients. Results The survey was completed by 50 respondents from 16 nations. The number of ventilated patients totalled 3403, on average 9.7% required a tracheostomy. This was on average performed on day 14 following intubation. The majority of patients were successfully weaned (mean 7.4 days following tracheostomy). Conclusion The results of this brief survey suggest that tracheostomy is of benefit in selected patients. There was insufficient data to suggest improved outcomes with either percutaneous vs an open surgical technique.
ISSN:1043-3074
1097-0347
DOI:10.1002/hed.26274