title: Successful tracheostomy decannulation after complete or sensory incomplete cervical spinal cord injury.
abstract: METHODS
  Retrospective study.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To report the successful tracheostomy decannulation/extubation in cervical spinal cord injury (C-SCI) patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Tertiary university hospital, pulmonary rehabilitation center.
  
  
  METHODS
  Complete or sensory incomplete C-SCI patients who had received invasive acute phase respiratory management, and succeeded in decannulation/extubation became candidates of this study. Retrospective review was conducted on the transitions of the respiratory status.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sixty-two patients (M: 55, F: 7) were identified. Traumatic etiologies accounted for 93.5%, and mean onset age was 47.6±15.8 years. Sixty patients (96.8%) had undergone tracheostomy and the other two received endotracheal intubation during acute phase. All patients succeeded in decannulation/extubation after employing mechanically assisted coughing and noninvasive mechanical ventilation (NIV). Mean time since tracheostomy to decannulation was 7.0±14.5 months. Of the 60 tracheostomized patients, 12 succeeded in decannulation without applying long-term NIV, 31 switched to continuous NIV after decannulation. Fifteen patients totally weaned off from ventilators after NIV. Two patients who once succeeded in decannulation were re-tracheostomized. For the 31 patients with continuous NIV, mean hours of daily need for ventilatory support had reduced from 15.3±8.0 to 5.7±5.7 h at final follow-ups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Complete or sensory incomplete C-SCI patients, even with high neurological level can be successfully decannulated through NIV and aggressive use of mechanically assisted coughing. Undesirable tracheostomy can be avoided by employing the noninvasive respiratory management.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Kangdong Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: D H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Pulmonary Rehabilitation Center, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Rehabilitation Institute of Neuromuscular Disease, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: S W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Pulmonary Rehabilitation Center, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Rehabilitation Institute of Neuromuscular Disease, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: W A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Pulmonary Rehabilitation Center, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Rehabilitation Institute of Neuromuscular Disease, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Oh
mesh_terms: D060666:Airway Extubation; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007440:Intubation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000628:therapy*; D014139:Tracheostomy; D016896:Treatment Outcome