Tracheostomy

There is an increasing number of patients, both in hospital and the community, who have tracheostomy tubes. A tracheostomy provides direct access to the trachea by surgically making an opening in the neck. Once an opening is made it needs to be maintained which is by tracheostomy tube, of which there are several types.

Tracheostomy is used in two broad types of conditions:

1. Acute setting - usually in an emergency, e.g. to protect the airway or in ventilated patients who are likely to have a prolonged weaning period.
2. Chronic or elective setting - usually when the patient is to be ventilated for the longer-term.

• Plastic or silver - silver tubes do not have an inner tube and need to be changed every 5-7 days (compared with every 30 days with some plastic types).
• Cuffed or uncuffed - cuffed tubes protect the airway and tend to be used in ventilated patients.
• Fenestrated or unfenestrated - these tubes may or may not be cuffed. They have a hole in the outer cannula which means that air can pass from the lungs and up to the vocal cords and also the mouth and nose. Patients can thus breathe normally, cough secretions out of the mouth and it helps voicing. Fenestrated tubes tend not to be used in children.³
• Double or single cannula - double cannulae have an inner and an outer tube. The inner tube reduces the lumen of the outer tube meaning that respiratory effort is increased, but the outer tube means that the stoma stays open.

Tracheostomy can be performed in theatres (open surgical tracheostomy) or at the bedside (percutaneous dilational tracheostomy), the latter being common on intensive care units. A meta analysis has concluded that percutaneously dilated tracheostomy is the procedure of choice in acute ICU patients.⁴

Surgical tracheostomy⁵

• Patient supine with head extension and under general anaesthesia
• Incision 2-3 cm from second tracheal ring down
• Divide thyroid isthmus if needed
• Make hole between 3rd and 4th tracheal rings, removing anterior portion of tracheal ring
• Tracheostomy tube inserted

Percutaneous tracheostomy⁵

• Percutaneous placement of a tracheostomy is performed using guide-wires and dilators
• Guidewire placed between first and second tracheal ring
• Gradually hole size increased using dilators of varying sizes which are passed over the guidewire
• This can be performed blindly in experience hands but often is aided by the use of a bronchoscope

There are various other methods also available both for surgical and percutaneous dilational tracheostomy.⁵

A mini-Trach is a tracheostomy tube of a smaller diameter that is passed through the crico-thyroid membrane. It is usually employed during emergency situations when intubation fails.

• Immediate
  • Haemorrhage, e.g. from thyroid isthmus
  • Hypoxia
  • Trauma to recurrent laryngeal nerve
  • Damage to oesophagus
  • Pneumothorax
  • Infection
  • Subcutaneous emphysema
• Early
  • Tube obstruction or displacement
  • Aspiration
  • Bleeding from tracheostomy site
  • Infection
• Late
  • Airway obstruction with aspiration
  • Damage to larynx, e.g. stenosis
  • Tracheal stenosis
  • Tracheomalacia
  • Aspiration and pneumonia
  • Fistula formation, e.g. tracheo-cutaneous or tracheo-oesophageal

Stoma care

• Meticulous care towards hygiene and asepsis is necessary.
• Remember that the skin surrounding the stoma is also prone to irritation.
• There may also be other factors which may alter skin integrity, e.g. radiotherapy.
• In double cannulae the inner cannula will need to be removed to be cleaned (usually just with warm water and then leave to air dry).
• The area should be cleaned with normal saline and barrier cream applied to the local skin (cotton wool should be avoided).

Tracheostomy tube care

• Tubes need to be cleaned - as above.
• For cuffed tracheostomy tubes the pressure should be measured twice daily and maintained between 15-30cmH₂O (15-25cmH₂O for children).

Communication

• Losing one's voice can be very traumatic for both patients and carers.
• Speaking valves can be used in the short-term and computerised methods can be used for more longer term solutions.
• The involvement of speech and language therapists is vital.

Swallowing and nutrition

• Problems with swallowing are caused by a number of factors including the underlying illness, pressure on the oesophagus, lack of cough to remove secretions etc.
• There is a risk of aspiration if oral feeding takes place and cuff inflation does not necessarily prevent this.
• There should be a multidisciplinary approach to nutrition with the early involvement of dieticians and speech and language therapists.
• Attention to oral hygiene is also needed.

Suctioning

• Remove fenestrated tubes before suctioning and replace with a plain tube.
• Use the lowest pressure needed (usually <120mmHg and definitely not beyond 200mmHg). For non-adults the following pressures are recommended: 60–80mmHg for neonates, 80–100mmHg for children, and 80–120mmHg for adolescents.
• Suctioning should only be performed for less than 10 seconds at a time in adults and not longer than 5 seconds in non-adults.

Humidification

• The normal humidification and air filtration system is bypassed if a tracheostomy is in-situ.
• Keep patients well hydrated - otherwise secretions will become thicker and are more likely to be retained. This can lead to infection and thus health care professionals need to be vigilant to markers of developing infection.

Patients and carers will need to be educated as to the above so that patients who will need the tracheostomy in the community can be safely and effectively managed. This applies to both children and adult patients.

As the patient improves and becomes less dependant on the ventilator the tracheostomy can be plugged for longer durations. Similarly, once the cuff can be deflated, the patient can begin to speak if the opening is occluded. Usually this takes time and patients need lots of support.
Eventually patients can manage without the tracheostomy and it can then be removed. Once a tracheostomy is removed the stoma usually heals over with time although a scar often remains.