Objective: To analyze the indications, complications, and outcomes of pediatric tracheotomies.
Material and methods: All tracheotomies performed in a tertiary referral center between January 2011 and December 2015 were reviewed retrospectively. Demographic characteristics of patients, types of referral to hospital, tracheotomy indications, preoperative evaluation findings, surgical technique, postoperative care and complications, discharge and follow-up results were analyzed.
Results: A total of 152 pediatric patients underwent tracheotomy at our hospital during this five year period. The median age of patients at the time of tracheotomy was 15.8 months, ranging from 24 days to 17 years. Of the 152 patients, 91 had neurological diseases, 38 had cardiopulmonary diseases, 14 had craniofacial abnormalities, seven had upper airway obstruction, and two underwent tracheostomy for trauma. Eleven (7.2%) patients experienced early complications, and 15 (9.8%) experienced late complications. Twenty (13.1%) patients were decannulated during the follow-up period. Unfortunately, 9 patients (5.9%) died of primary disease and 3 patients (1.9%) died of tracheostomy-related complications
Conclusions: The majority of procedures were performed for diseases leading to prolonged mechanical ventilator support such as neurological and cardiopulmonary diseases. This study demostrates the importance of tracheotomy indications, which are the main predictors of decannulation rates. The other significant predictor is pulmonary complications that may cause permanent dependence of mechanical ventilator support as a result of pulmonary failure.