Abstract
Background Tracheostomy is a common intervention for intensive care unit (ICU) patients for various reasons. The superiority of early versus late tracheostomy is still unfounded for non-COVID-19 cases. The COVID-19 pandemic complicated the matter, as little literature was available on the ideal timing of tracheostomy for patients with COVID-19. Research question This study aimed to establish the superiority of early or late tracheostomy for COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 cases by comparing outcomes, including ICU mortality, ventilation days after tracheostomy, and ICU length of stay (LOS). Study design and methods A single-center retrospective cohort study was conducted on ventilated ICU patients both with and without COVID-19 at a university hospital between January 2020 and December 2021. During the study period, 1,393 ventilated patients were scanned, and 156 were found to be tracheostomized. Tracheostomy was considered to be early when performed within 10 days of intubation, after which it was considered to be late. Results Tracheostomy was performed early for 84/156 (53.8%) of tracheostomized patients and late for 72/156 (46.2%) of patients. The overall mortality was 42.9% (36/84) versus 69.4% (50/72) (P=0.001, OR=3.03, 95% CI=1.563-5.874), 31.4% versus 65.5% in the non-COVID-19 group and 60.6% versus 72.1% (P=0.005, OR=2.640, 95% CI=1.345-5.181) in the COVID-19 group for the early and late tracheostomy groups, respectively. Ventilation days were higher for the late tracheostomy group than for the early tracheostomy group in the non-COVID-19 group (17.10 versus 9.18 days, P<0.001). However, it was almost the same for the early and late tracheostomy groups in the COVID-19 group (14.15 versus 13.86 days, P=0.821). The ICU LOS was greater for the late tracheostomy group for both the COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 groups. Multivariate analysis revealed that ICU mortality is significantly associated with age, ventilation days, and ICU LOS. Interpretation The results of this study indicate that early tracheostomy was associated with lower mortality, fewer ventilation days, and shorter LOS in both the COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 groups.