Early Intervention for the Treatment of Acute Laryngeal Injury After Intubation.

Importance: Patients with laryngeal injury after endotracheal intubation often present long after initial injury with mature fibrosis compromising cricoarytenoid joint mobility and glottic function. Objective: To compare functional outcomes between early and late intervention for intubation-related laryngeal injury. Design, Setting, and Participants: This retrospective cohort study involved 29 patients with laryngeal injury resulting from endotracheal intubation who were evaluated at a tertiary care center between May 1, 2014, and June 1, 2018. Ten patients with intubation injury to the posterior glottis who received early treatment were compared with 19 patients presenting with posterior glottic stenosis who received late treatment. Statistical analysis was performed from May 1 to July 1, 2019. Exposures: Early intervention, defined as a procedure performed 45 days or less after intubation, and late treatment, defined as an intervention performed greater than 45 days after intubation. Main Outcomes and Measures: Patient-specific and intervention-specific covariates were compared between the 2 groups, absolute differences with 95% CIs were calculated, and time to tracheostomy decannulation was compared using log-rank testing. Results: The 2 groups had similar demographic characteristics and a similar burden of comorbid disease. Ten patients who received early intervention (7 women [70%]; median age, 59.7 years [range, 31-72 years]; median, 34.7 days to presentation [IQR, 1.5-44.8 days]) were compared with 19 patients who received late intervention (11 women [58%]; median age, 53.8 years [range, 34-73 years]; median, 341.9 days to presentation [IQR, 132.7-376.3 days]). Nine of 10 patients (90%) who received early intervention and 11 of 19 patients (58%) who received late interventions were decannulated at last follow-up (absolute difference, 32%; 95% CI, -3% to 68%). Patients who received early treatment required fewer total interventions than patients with mature lesions (mean, 2.2 vs 11.5; absolute difference, 9.3; 95% CI, 6.4-12.1). In addition, none of the patients who received early treatment required an open procedure, whereas 17 patients (90%) with mature lesions required open procedures to pursue decannulation. Conclusions and Relevance: This study suggests that early intervention for patients with postintubation laryngeal injury was associated with a decreased duration of tracheostomy dependence, a higher rate of decannulation, and fewer surgical procedures compared with late intervention. Patients who underwent early intervention also avoided open reconstruction. These findings may bear relevance to the management of patients requiring extended durations of endotracheal intubation during recovery for critical illness related to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection.

A Prospective Study of Voice, Swallow, and Airway Outcomes Following Tracheostomy for COVID-19.

OBJECTIVE: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to unprecedented demands on healthcare with many requiring intubation. Tracheostomy insertion has often been delayed and the enduring effects of this on voice, swallow, and airway outcomes in COVID-19 tracheostomy patients are unknown. The aim of this study was to prospectively assess these outcomes in this patient cohort following hospital discharge. METHODS: All COVID-19 patients who had undergone tracheostomy insertion, and were subsequently decannulated, were identified at our institution and followed up 2 months post-discharge. Patient-reported (PROMS) and clinician-reported outcome measures, endoscopic examination, and spirometry were used to assess voice, swallow, and airway outcomes. RESULTS: Forty-one patients were included in the study with a mean age of 56 years and male:female ratio of 28:13. Average duration of endotracheal intubation was 24 days and 63.4% of tracheostomies were performed at day 21 to 35 of intubation. 53.7% had an abnormal GRBAS score and 30% reported abnormal swallow on EAT-10 questionnaire. 81.1% had normal endoscopic examination of the larynx, however, positive endoscopic findings correlated with the patient self-reported VHI-10 (P = .036) and EAT-10 scores (P = .027). 22.5% had spirometric evidence of fixed upper airway obstruction using the Expiratory-Disproportion Index (EDI) and Spearman correlation analysis showed a positive trend between abnormal endoscopic findings and EDI scores over 50 (P < .0001). CONCLUSION: The preliminary results of this study reveal a high incidence of laryngeal injury among patients who underwent intubation and tracheostomy insertion during the COVID-19 pandemic. As these patients continue to be followed up, the evolution of these complications will be studied. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 3 Laryngoscope, 131:E1918-E1925, 2021.