Comparison of Standard and Percutaneous Tracheostomy Complications in Shariati Hospital in Iran

Background: Tracheostomy is a procedure which aims at better managing patients’ airway. It can be done using two methods: standard and percutaneous. The percutaneous method is a favorable choice for critically illpatients because it is a less invasive procedure. This study compares the short-term complications of these two methods (during 7 days after the procedure).Methods: This study was a cross-sectional research performed on 50 ICU patients in need of tracheostomy.The patients were divided into two groups of percutaneous procedure (15 patients) and standard procedure(35 patients). The complications were registered in questionnaires and the data were analyzed using SPSS software (χ² test and t-test).Results: The two groups had no significant difference in age, sex, and vital signs. Average duration of the procedure was 24.4 minutes in the standard procedure (10-45 minutes) and 26.78 minutes (5-70 minutes) in the percutaneous procedure, and there was no significant difference between two groups (P = 0.814). Average bleeding during 7 days after the procedure was 44 cc (10-150 cc) in standard procedure and 24.7 cc (10-50 cc) in the percutaneous procedure, and the difference was significant (P = 0.012). The other variables were not significantly different in two groups.Conclusions: There was no difference in short-term complications between percutaneous and standard tracheostomy method should be selected considering other important factors