Percutaneous tracheostomy in COVID patients. Experience in our hospital center after one year of pandemic and review of the literature

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Percutaneous tracheostomy in COVID patients. Experience in our hospital center after one year of pandemic and review of the literature Via pubmed: "med oral patol oral... Med Oral Patol Oral Cir Bucal. 2021 Aug 20:24826. doi: 10.4317/medoral.24826. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: The pandemic caused by SARS-COV-2 has caused an increase in the need of tracheostomies in patients affected with respiratory distress syndrome. In this article we report our experience during a year of pandemic, we develop our surgical technique to perform percutaneous tracheostomy with the patient in apnea and we compare our results with those of other centers through a bibliographic review. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A one-year retrospective clinical study was carried out on tracheotomies performed on patients admitted to the intensive care unit with severe SARS-CoV-2, with difficulty for ventilation or weaning. The technique performed was percutaneous, with fibroscopic control through the endotracheal tube, keeping the patient under apnea during the opening of the airway, reducing by this method the risk of expo sure to the virus. RESULTS: From 35 percutaneous tracheotomies performed, 31% of the patients died from respiratory complications due to SARS-COV-2, but none due to the surgical procedure. The most frequent complication (8.5% of patients) was bleeding around the tracheostoma, resolved with local measures. No healthcare provider involved in the performance of the technique had symptoms or was diagnosed with COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: Our technique of performing percutaneous tracheostomy maintaining apnea during the procedure, under fibroscopic control, has proven to be safe for all those involved in the procedure, and for the patient. PMID:34415000 | DOI:10.4317/medoral.24826 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.