ArticleCritical care explorations2022
Outcomes of Early Versus Late Tracheostomy in Patients With COVID-19: A Multinational Cohort Study.
Article in Critical care explorations, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Pooled it
- Safety of Telemedicine Versus In-Person Care for Patients With Tracheal Devices: Propensity Score-Matched Cohort Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Survival analysis of time to decannulation and failure drivers among tracheostomy patients in Rwanda.BMC surgery · 2025Article
- Article
- Timing of Tracheostomy and Association with Ventilator Liberation, Length of Stay, and Discharge Outcomes in Neurocritical Patients.Tracheostomy (Warrenville, Ill.) · 2025Article
- Article
- Outcomes for COVID-19 Patients Undergoing Tracheostomy With or Without Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO).Cureus · 2024Article
- A retrospective analysis of COVID-19 tracheostomies: Early versus late tracheostomy.Laryngoscope investigative otolaryngology · 2023Article
- Characteristics and Outcomes of Tracheostomized Patients With and Without COVID-19.Critical care explorations · 2023Article
- The Impact of Percutaneous Tracheotomy on Mortality and Length of Stay in the Critical Care Unit for COVID-19 ARDS.Journal of clinical practice and research · 2023Article
- Characteristics and factors associated with mortality in tracheostomized patients with COVID-19: a retrospective cohort study in a hospital in Tacna, Peru.Revista peruana de medicina experimental y salud publicaArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
54 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Timing of tracheostomy in patients with COVID-19 has attracted substantial attention. Initial guidelines recommended delaying or avoiding tracheostomy due to the potential for particle aerosolization and theoretical risk to providers. However, early tracheostomy could improve patient outcomes and alleviate resource shortages. This study compares outcomes in a diverse population of hospitalized COVID-19 patients who underwent tracheostomy either "early" (within 14 d of intubation) or "late" (more than 14 d after intubation).
designInternational multi-institute retrospective cohort study.
settingThirteen hospitals in Bolivia, Brazil, Spain, and the United States. PATIENTS: Hospitalized patients with COVID-19 undergoing early or late tracheostomy between March 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021.
interventionsNot applicable. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN
resultsA total of 549 patients from 13 hospitals in four countries were included in the final analysis. Multivariable regression analysis showed that early tracheostomy was associated with a 12-day decrease in time on mechanical ventilation (95% CI, -16 to -8; p < 0.001). Further, ICU and hospital lengths of stay in patients undergoing early tracheostomy were 15 days (95% CI, -23 to -9 d; p < 0.001) and 22 days (95% CI, -31 to -12 d) shorter, respectively. In contrast, early tracheostomy patients experienced lower risk-adjusted survival at 30-day post-admission (hazard ratio, 3.0; 95% CI, 1.8-5.2). Differences in 90-day post-admission survival were not identified.
conclusionsCOVID-19 patients undergoing tracheostomy within 14 days of intubation have reduced ventilator dependence as well as reduced lengths of stay. However, early tracheostomy patients experienced lower 30-day survival. Future efforts should identify patients most likely to benefit from early tracheostomy while accounting for location-specific capacity.
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