Use of percutaneous tracheostomy in intensive care units in Spain. Results of a national survey.
OBJECTIVES: To assess the use of percutaneous tracheostomy in Intensive Care Units (ICU) in Spain, its practice, and current opinions on the technique. DESIGN AND SETTING: An e-mail or post survey was sent to 239 Spanish ICU directors. Pediatric ICUs and coronary units were excluded. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: One hundred ICUs (41.8%) replied. The 44% ( n=44) of the ICUs that answered belonged to university hospitals and 53% ( n=53) had postgraduate teaching. Eighty-two percent ( n=82) used percutaneous tracheostomy. Griggs' Guide Wire Dilating Forceps and Ciaglia Blue Rhino were the most frequent techniques employed. In 30.5% of ICUs ( n=25) endoscopic guidance was used, in 15.7% ( n= 13) it was routine. In 24.4% ( n=20) some kind of long-term follow-up was carried out, but only in 12.2% ( n=10) was follow-up done routinely. In 58.5% of ICUs ( n=48) in which percutaneous tracheostomy is performed is this technique considered safer than surgical tracheostomy and in 86.4% ( n=70) percutaneous tracheostomy is the first choice for tracheostomy in the critically ill patient. CONCLUSIONS: Percutaneous tracheostomy is a well-established technique in ICUs in Spain, and is considered the technique of choice for tracheostomy in critically ill patients. It is mainly performed without endoscopic guidance and follow-up is not usually carried out.[1]References
- Use of percutaneous tracheostomy in intensive care units in Spain. Results of a national survey. Añón, J.M., Escuela, M.P., Gómez, V., García de Lorenzo, A., Montejo, J.C., López, J. Intensive care medicine. (2004) [Pubmed]
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