Background: Tracheostomy is an important surgical procedure in the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) disease (COVID-19) pandemic, particularly those patients undergoing prolonged tracheal intubation. The timing and indications for tracheostomy in COVID-19 patients with ventilators are still controversial. Methods: We prospectively studied the best timing for performing surgical tracheostomy in COVID-19 patients (n = 22) from April 2020 to May 2021 in the COVID-19 ICU attached to our COVID-19 hospital. The tracheotomised patients were followed up and the number and timing of the death were documented. Results: There were 14 males (male:female = 1.75:1). The mean duration of endotracheal intubation to tracheostomy was 14.4 days (range 10-22 days). The mean time for tracheostomy was 18.45 min (range 12-25 min). Five patients (22.7%) died after tracheostomy. The median time between tracheostomy and death was 4 days. Conclusions: Surgical tracheostomy has to be performed in a proper time with safe manner for benefit of the patients with COVID-19 and the health care professionals managing the patient. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Clinical & Scientific Research is the property of Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)
Timing to perform bed-side surgical tracheostomy in COVID-19 patients in intensive care unit