Elective Tracheostomy During Mechanical Ventilation in Patients Affected by COVID-19: Preliminary Case Series From Lombardy, Italy.
Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg
; 163(1): 135-137, 2020 07.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-913960
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 outbreak poses continued struggles due to the unprecedented number of patients admitted to intensive care units and the overwhelming need for mechanical ventilation. We report a preliminary case series of 32 patients with COVID-19 who underwent elective tracheostomies after a mean intubation period of 15 days (range, 9-21 days). The procedure was performed with percutaneous (10 cases) and open (22 cases) surgical techniques. Neither procedure-related complications nor viral transmission to health care workers was observed. Our preliminary experience supports the safety of tracheostomy, provided that appropriate protocols are strictly followed. The postoperative care is still debated, and, prudentially, our protocol includes tracheal tube change not before 2 weeks after tracheostomy, with cuff deflation and decannulation deferred until confirmation of negative SARS-CoV-2 test results. This is the first case series to report on such a rapidly evolving issue and might represent a source of information for clinicians worldwide who will soon be facing the same challenges.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Pneumonia, Viral
/
Respiration, Artificial
/
Respiratory Insufficiency
/
Tracheostomy
/
Coronavirus Infections
/
Disease Transmission, Infectious
/
Betacoronavirus
/
Intensive Care Units
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Topics:
Long Covid
Limits:
Adult
/
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
English
Journal:
Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg
Journal subject:
Otolaryngology
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
0194599820928963
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