J Korean Neurosurg Soc.  2013 Sep;54(3):220-224. 10.3340/jkns.2013.54.3.220.

The Effectiveness of Early Tracheostomy (within at least 10 Days) in Cervical Spinal Cord Injury Patients

• Choi HJ
• Paeng SH
• Kim ST
• Lee KS
• Kim MS
• Jung YT

• KMID: 2190901
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3340/jkns.2013.54.3.220

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to determine the optimal time for tracheostomy by evaluating the benefits and safety of early versus late tracheostomy in spinal cord injury (SCI) patients.
METHODS
We retrospectively reviewed a total of 254 patients with spinal cord injury. Of them, we selected 21 spinal cord injury patients who required tracheostomy due to long-term mechanical ventilation and analyzed their medical records. The patients were categorized into two groups. Early tracheostomy was performed day 1-10 from intubation in 10 patients and the late tracheostomy was performed after day 10 in 11 cases. We also evaluated the duration of mechanical ventilation, stay in the ICU and complications related to tracheostomy, the injury level of and clinical severity. All data was analyzed using SPSS 18.0/WIN.
RESULTS
The early tracheostomy offered clear advantages for shortening the total ICU stay (20.8 day vs. 38.0 day, p=0.010). There was also statistically significant reduction in the total length of time on mechanical ventilation (5.2 day vs. 29.2 day, p=0.009). However, the reductions in the incidence of pneumonia (40% vs. 82%) and the length of ICU stay post to tracheostomy (6 day vs. 15 day) were found to be statistically not significant. There were also no statistically significant differences in the injury level and clinical severity between the groups.
CONCLUSION
We concluded that the early tracheostomy (at least 10 days) is beneficial for SCI patients who are likely to require prolonged mechanical ventilation.

Keyword

Tracheostomy; Spinal cord injury

MeSH Terms

Humans
Incidence
Intubation
Medical Records
Pneumonia
Respiration, Artificial
Retrospective Studies
Spinal Cord Injuries*
Spinal Cord*
Tracheostomy*

Figure

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  Fig. 1 A 37-year-old female who sustained quadriparesis after a four-meter fall (muscle strength of arms and legs were 3/5 and 1/5, and there was anesthesia below nipples). A : Cervical CT showing compressed fracture and dislocation at the level of C5. B : CT showing corpectomy and mesh cage implantation at the level of C5 and anterior cervical plate fixation at the level of C4 and C6. C : MRI showing cervical spinal cord injury. D : Chest X-ray showing hazziness (2 weeks after the injury). E : Improvement on chest X-ray after tracheostomy. F : Chest 3-D CT showing tracheal stenosis after a month (red arrow). G : Chest 3-D CT image after treating the tracheal stenotic lesion.

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