Abstract
Background Benefits of early tracheostomy (ET) versus late tracheostomy (LT) while treating critically ill patients have been a matter of big debate in the last few years. Several meta-analyses tried to prove the benefits of ET in decreasing the duration of mechanical ventilation (MV), the length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay, and the mortality rates. However, no clear guidelines are available yet. This study will focus on comparing the outcomes of early tracheostomy versus late one. Methods This is a retrospective study done in two medical and surgical ICUs at "Sacre-Coeur Hospital" and "Rafik Hariri University Hospital" at Beirut, where we reviewed various files of patients who underwent elective tracheostomy for prolonged MV from January 2015 to June 2016. ET and LT were assumed to be procedures performed respectively before and after 10 days of MV. These two groups were subdivided based on the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) score calculated in the first 24 hours of ICU admission. Data about short- and long-term mortality, the duration of MV, and the length of ICU stay were collected and compared. Results From a total of 45 patients, only 25 patients met the inclusion and exclusion criteria of whom 12 (48%) underwent ET and 13 (52%) patients underwent LT. In patients with APACHE II <25 (6 ET and 6 LT), ET was associated with 50% long-term mortality, 9.6 days mean duration of MV and 23 days mean length of ICU stay compared to 57% (P-value=0.05), 78 days (P-value=0.04) and 79 days (P-value=0.012) of respective parameters in LT groups. In patients with APACHE II >25 (6 ET and 7 LT), ET was associated with 50% long-term mortality, 8.6 days mean duration of MV and 24 days mean length of ICU stay compared to 84%, 105 days, 84 days of respective parameter in LT groups. Conclusions Our results are suggestive of the superiority of ET because it was associated with a reduced duration of MV, a decrease in the length of ICU stay, and, most importantly, a lower long-term mortality rate.