Tracheostomy Preferences of Anesthesiology and Reanimation Specialists in Türkiye

Abstract

Objective: There has been a trend toward percutaneous tracheostomy in recent years, as anesthesiologists have been interested in this and learned the techniques. We aimed to investigate the perspectives of anesthesiology and reanimation specialists in our country regarding tracheostomy. Methods: A survey was conducted on Anesthesiology and Reanimation specialists, which included questions of tracheostomy experience, preferences. Chi-square or Fisher tests were used for analysis. Results: A total of 213 people (51.2% women) participated, where 29% preferred tracheostomy within the two weeks of intubation, while 66% preferred it later. While 87% of the participants preferred percutaneous tracheostomy, 11% preferred surgical technique. For the specialists who preferred tracheostomy within the first two weeks of intubation, the rate of working in a university hospital was significantly higher (p=0.034). Of those who preferred surgical tracheostomy 91.3% had 0-10 times tracheostomy experience. While 89% of the participants preferred needle, 7% preferred scalpel cricothyrotomy. Conclusion: Tracheostomy is a commonly used procedure by anesthesiologists and intensivists. Bronchoscopy and ultrasonography are frequently used auxiliary tools. University hospital physicians often prefer tracheostomy within the first two weeks of intubation. Those with more tracheostomy experience mostly use the percutaneous method. Contrary to the current guidelines, needle method is preferred for cricothyrotomy in our country. Keywords: Complication, experience, percutaneous, surgery, tracheostomy