Tracheostomy experiences in an adult anesthesia intensive care unit

Aim: This study aimed to present the tracheostomy procedures in patients treated in the adult anesthesia intensive care unit (ICU) of our clinic. Material and Methods: Patients who admitted to the adult anesthesia ICU of our hospital and underwent surgical and percutaneous tracheostomy between January 2012 and January 2019 were retrospectively evaluated. The demographic data of the patients, diagnosis upon ICU hospitalization, Glasgow coma scale score, acute physiological and chronic health assessment results, length of stay with tracheostomy, duration of tracheostomy procedure, method of tracheostomy (percutaneous or surgical), complications, and mortality rates were investigated. Results: The data of 114 patients were analyzed. Among patients with a mean age of 72.03 +/- 14.12 years, 41.23% were females, and 58.77% were males. At ICU admissions, the most common diagnoses were pulmonary pathologies in 29.82%, cardiovascular diseases in 25.44%, and cerebral pathologies in 20.18%. The mean length of stay of the patients after the tracheostomy procedure was 17.09 +/- 7.22 days. Seventy-two (63.16%) patients underwent percutaneous tracheostomy, and 42 (36.84%) underwent surgical tracheostomy. The mean tracheostomy procedure duration was 12.82 +/- 8.04 minutes; 19 (16.67%) patients had complications, mostly bleeding. The overall mortality rate was 25.44%, most seen among the patients with cardiovascular diseases (81.82%). Of the tracheostomized patients, 53.51% were transferred to palliative care and other services, and 21.05% were discharged as home care patients. Discussion: The tracheostomy procedure is crucial in the transfer or discharge of patients hospitalized in the adult intensive care unit with home-type mechanical ventilators or spontaneous breathing.