Percutaneous dilational tracheostomy in critically ill patients

ABSTRACT

This study was performed on 18 critically ill surgical or medical ICU patients [10 males, mean age 32.8 +/- 17 years] in a tertiary university hospital requiring tracheostomy for airway control or prolonged mechanical ventilation. It aimed to evaluate the safety and cost-effectiveness of the bedside percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy [PDT] in the critically ill patients and to compare two different methods of PDT; namely, the progressive and the single dilatation techniques. The patients were randomized to undergo PDT by either the multiple progressive dilatation method [group A, eight patients] or single dilatation method [group B, ten patients]. The study concluded that PDT is a relatively safe and fast procedure in the ICU-critically ill patients. The single dilatation method is even more rapidly performed bedside method than the progressive dilatation one