View article

Objectives:

The aim of this study is to present our experience with elective surgical tracheostomy for intensive care unit (ICU) patients who needed prolonged translaryngeal intubation in order to evaluate the proper timing and advantages of early vs. late tracheostomy and to stress upon the risks associated with delayed tracheostomy.

Methods:

Medical records of all patients, who underwent elective tracheostomy for prolonged intubation from September 2006 to August 2010 at Jordan University hospital, were reviewed.

Results:

A total of 106 patients (74 males) were included; their age ranged from 2 months to 90 yr with mean age of 46.5 yr. The mean time at which tracheostomy was done after initial tracheal intubation was 23 days (range 3-7 weeks). Trauma was the most frequent cause of ICU admission 38 (35.8%), followed by post-surgery causes 14 (13.2%). An early tracheostomy showed less complication vs late …