title: Percutaneous tracheostomy in critically ill patients: 24 months experience at a tertiary care hospital in United Arab Emirates.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We assessed the safety and complications related to percutaneous tracheostomy (PCT) without bronchoscopic guidance in our intensive care unit (ICU).
  
  
  METHODS
  The prospective data over a period of 24 months were collected for patients who underwent PCT. Major, minor and long-term complications were recorded. The parameters recorded were: age, gender, Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score on the day of tracheostomy, acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II (APACHE) score, and predicted mortality based on score on admission and on the day of procedure, number of days on ventilator before and after the procedure, total number of days in the hospital before the final outcome, number of successful decannulations and mortality. The patients were stratified in two groups of survivors and nonsurvivors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 117 patients underwent PCT. Overall mean GCS and APACHE-II scores before PCT were 7 ± 3 and 16 ± 5, respectively. The only significant difference was APACHE-II score and the predicted mortality based on APACHE-II score on the day of PCT, which was higher amongst the nonsurvivors (P = 0.008 and P = 0.006). All 57 (49%) survivors were successfully decannulated with mean post tracheostomy days of 24 ± 15. The major complication observed was three episodes of major bleeding. Only six patients had an episode of desaturation during the procedure and there were three episode of accidental puncturing of endotracheal (ET) tube pressure cuff. During subsequent follow-up in hospital, six patients developed stomal cellulitis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  PCT without bronchoscopic guidance can be performed safely by carefully selecting patients and having an experienced team High APACHE score on the day of procedure may lead to poor outcome.
authors.affiliation: Rashid Hospital Trauma Center, Medical ICU, PO Box 4545, Dubai-UAE. ahmedraees@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Raees
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ahmed
authors.forename: Sherif R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Rady
authors.forename: Javed Iqbal
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Mohammad Siddique
authors.forename: Mobeen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Iqbal