title: Nursing care of patients with a temporary tracheostomy.
abstract: Safety considerations are important when caring for a patient with a temporary tracheostomy. Early detection and resolution of problems in tracheostomy management are important to prevent serious incidents arising. Nurses working outside critical care areas need to be competent and confident in the management or detection of potential problems with tracheostomies. This article summarises the essential care of a patient with a temporary tracheostomy with reference to best practice guidelines, emphasising the importance of prompt intervention and response, if a potential problem is identified.
authors.affiliation: Guy's Hospital, London, England.
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Myatt
mesh_terms: D003422:Critical Care / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D010614:Pharynx / Q000502:physiology / Q000601:surgery*; D013396:Suction / Q000451:nursing; D014139:Tracheostomy / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000451:nursing*; D006113:United Kingdom
keywords: Cuffed tracheostomy tube; device safety; management of tracheostomy; nursing care; patient safety; temporary tracheostomy; tracheostomy; uncuffed tracheostomy tube