Percutaneous Tracheostomy in ICU of Lahore General Hospital. A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Objective: To determine the frequency of complications associated with percutaneous tracheostomy in ICUObjective: of Lahore general hospital
Material and Methods: It was an observational cross-sectional study conducted in surgical ICU of Lahore general hospital, Lahore, Pakistan. It was conducted over the time period of 2 years starting from July, 2019 to June, 2021. Patients above 18 years and who underwent percutaneous tracheostomy during this time were included. After proper sedation and paralysis, percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy is performed using Smiths medical protex commercial tracheostomy set with Seldinger technique. Patient's characteristics along with complications of tracheostomy including blood loss, pneumothorax, sub cutaneous emphysema, infection and mortality were recorded and analyzed. Complications were expressed in frequency and percentage.
Results: Total 72 patients were included in this study. Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) was found in 38.9% patients being most frequent diagnosis at time of PDT. Severe bleeding >250 ml was observed in only one case at the time of procedure. One patient developed pneumothorax after 3 hours of procedure. 5.6% of the patients had developed stoma infection within 7 days. 23.6 % of the patients had mortality within 7 days due to other complications.
Conclusion: Percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy is a safe procedure for critically ill patients in ICU and holds low complications rate.