Timing of elective tracheotomy and duration of mechanical ventilation among patients admitted to intensive care with severe COVID‐19: A multicenter prospective cohort study

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Timing of elective tracheotomy and duration of mechanical ventilation among patients admitted to intensive care with severe COVID‐19: A multicenter prospective cohort study Via Head & Neck Abstract Background Optimal timing for tracheotomy for critically ill COVID-19 patients requiring invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) is not established. Methods Multicenter prospective cohort including all COVID-19 patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) in 36 hospitals who required tracheotomy during first pandemic wave. With a target emulation trial framework, we studied the causal effects of early (7–10 days) versus late (>10 days) tracheotomy (LT) on time from tracheotomy to weaning, postoperative mortality, and tracheotomy complications. Results Of 696 patients, 20.4% received early tracheotomy (ET). ET was associated with faster weaning (hazard ratio [HR] [95% confidence interval, CI]: 1.25 [1.00–1.56]) without differences in mortality (HR [95% CI]: 0.85 [0.60–1.21]) or complications (adjusted rate ratio [95% CI]: 0.56 [0.23–1.33]). Conclusions ET had a similar or lower post-tracheotomy weaning time than LT, potentially shortening IMV and ICU stays, without changing complication or mortality rates in COVID-19 patients. View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.