The Turkish Journal of Pediatrics 2008 , Vol 50 , Num 4
Pediatric bedside tracheostomy in the pediatric intensive care unit: six-year experience
1 Intensive Care Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Ege University Faculty of Medicine, Izmir, Turkey
2 Department of Pediatric Surgery, Ege University Faculty of Medicine, Izmir, Turkey
Karapınar B, Arslan MT, Özcan C. Pediatric bedside tracheostomy in the pediatric intensive care unit: six-year experience. Turk J Pediatr 2008; 50: 366-372.

In this study, we evaluated the experience of a single center pediatric intensive care unit in pediatric bedside tracheostomies performed during a six-year period. Thirty-one bedside tracheostomies were performed on 31 patients aged 2 months to 18 years. The major indication for tracheostomy was prolonged ventilator dependence. Twenty-two complications, 6 major and 16 minor, were observed in 18 patients. Early complications were observed in 5 patients and all were managed immediately without serious outcomes. Ten patients died during the study period and only one death was directly related to the tracheostomy; the remaining 9 patients died due to their underlying disease. Eleven patients were successfully decannulated, 12 patients were discharged home with their tracheostomies and 5 of these 12 patients required home ventilation. Although children who required tracheostomy had a high overall mortality (32.3%), the prognosis of these patients depends primarily on the underlying medical condition. Keywords : tracheostomy, children, bedside, complications, indications

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