[Results of an artificial airway management protocol in critical patients subjected to mechanical ventilation]

To determine the results of the implementation of a protocol in an intensive care unit (ICU) referred to critically ill patients requiring a prolonged artificial airway.

A prospective, observational cohort study was carried out.

Management strategies were established on the airway by endotracheal intubation (ETI) or tracheostomy, and guidelines were developed for action in the decannulation process.

A polyvalent ICU.

We studied 169 patients subjected to mechanical ventilation (MV), 67 with ETI ≥ 10 days of MV and 102 with percutaneous (PT) or surgical tracheostomy (TQ).

ICU and hospital stays, days of ETI and MV, mortality, tracheostomy, anatomical risk factors, surgical complications, and postoperative decannulation period.

ETI versus tracheotomy involved fewer days of MV (17 vs. 30 days, p<0.001), a shorter ICU stay (20 vs. 35 days, p<0.001), and a shorter hospital stay (34 vs. 51 days, p<0.001).There were more TQ procedures in patients with risk factors (47% TP vs. 89% TQ, p<0.001). Intraoperative minor bleeding was the most common complication, being associated with TQ (31% vs. 11%, p = 0.03). TP was associated with a shorter cannulationperiod (25 days vs. 34 days, p<0.04).

The protocol variants showed no differences in terms of complications and mortality, when orienting application to patients with similar characteristics.