title: Tracheostomy care in the hospital.
abstract: Long-term tracheostomy in infants and children is associated with significant morbidity. The majority of paediatric patients experience tracheostomy-related complications during cannulation and/or after decannulation. A large proportion of these complications are, however, preventable or may be minimised by good tracheostomy care and clinical evaluation of the patients at regular intervals, tailored to the needs of the individual child. By and large, infants and children benefit from a specialist tracheostomy service. In this article, we review different aspects of hospital-based care, covering a wide range of topics including the selection of tracheostomy tubes and adjuncts, clinical evaluation, speech/communication, and late complications and their prevention.
authors.affiliation: Respiratory and Allergic Disease Division, Paediatric Department, Medical University of Graz, Auenbruggerplatz 30, A-8036 Graz, Austria. ernst.eber@meduni-graz.at
authors.forename: Ernst
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Eber
authors.forename: Béatrice
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Oberwaldner
mesh_terms: D000402:Airway Obstruction / Q000628:therapy; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004867:Equipment Design; D006760:Hospitalization; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D013060:Speech; D014139:Tracheostomy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*