Tracheostomy is associated with decreased in-hospital mortality during severe COVID-19 infection

Objective: Tracheostomy is often performed in patients with a prolonged course of endotracheal intubation. This study sought to examine the clinical utility of tracheostomy during severe Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. Study Design: A retrospective single-system, multicenter observational cohort study was performed on patients intubated for COVID-19 infection. Patients who received intubation alone were compared with patients who received intubation and subsequent tracheostomy. Patient demographics, comorbidities, and hospital courses were analyzed. Setting: The University of Pennsylvania Health System from 2020 to 2021. Methods: Logistic regression analysis was performed on patient demographics and comorbidities. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were generated depending on whether patients received a tracheostomy. Results: Of 777 intubated patients, 452 were male (58.2%) and 325 were female (41.8%) with a median age of 63 (interquartile range [IQR]: 54-73) years. One-hundred and eighty-five (23.8%) patients underwent tracheostomy. The mean time from intubation to tracheostomy was (17.3 +/- 9.7) days. Patients who underwent tracheostomy were less likely to expire during their hospitalization than those who did not undergo tracheostomy (odds ratio [OR] = 0.31, P < 0.001), and patient age was positively associated with mortality (OR = 1.04 per year, P < 0.001). Likelihood of receiving tracheostomy was positively associated with being on extra-corporeal membranous oxygenation (ECMO) (OR = 101.10, P < 0.001), immunocompromised status (OR = 3.61, P = 0.002), and current tobacco smoking (OR = 4.81, P = 0.041). Tracheostomy was also associated with a significantly longer hospital length of stay ([57.5 +/- 32.2] days vs. [19.9 +/- 18.1] days, P < 0.001). Conclusions: Tracheostomy was associated with reduced in-hospital mortality, despite also being associated with increased comorbidities. Tracheostomy should not be held back from patients with comorbidities for this reason alone and may even improve survival in high-risk patients.