Clinical Research on the Timing of Tracheostomy in Patients with Acute Cervical Spinal Cord Injury / 中国微创外科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To study the optimal timing of tracheotomy in patients with acute cervical spinal cord injury who need ventilation for a long time . Methods A retrospective research on seventy-nine patients with acute cervical spinal cord injury who underwent tracheostomy in our hospital from January 2011 to December 2015 was conducted .The 79 patients were divided into two groups.The patients with a duration from intubation to tracheostomy less than or equal to 10 days were enrolled in group A , and the duration more than 10 days, group B.The duration of ventilation , the length of ICU stay , and the incidence rate of lung infection were compared between the two groups . Results The duration of ventilation in the group A (192 ±58) h was less than that in the group B (348 ±53) h (t=-12.490, P=0.000).The length of ICU stay in the group A (9.8 ±2.7) d was less than that in the group B (15.9 ±2.2) d (t=-11.058, P=0.000).The incidence of pneumonia in the group A (16.2%, 6/37) was lower than that in the group B (38.1%, 16/42,χ2 =4.686, P=0.030).Mechanical ventilation was successfully withdrawn in 34 and 38 cases of group A and B, without significant difference (χ2 =0.000, P=1.000). Conclusion Early tracheostomy in patients with acute cervical spinal cord injury who need ventilation for a long time could shorten the duration of ventilation and the length of ICU stay , and decrease the incidence of pneumonia .