[Percutaneous tracheostomy through dilatation with the Ciaglia Blue Dolphin(®) method]

To describe the perioperative and postoperative complications in critically ill patients requiring percutaneous tracheostomy using the Ciaglia Blue Dolphin(®) technique.

A prospective, observational, cohort study was carried out.

Two medical-surgical Intensive Care Units.

Adult patients subjected to prolonged mechanical ventilation.

Percutaneous tracheostomy using Ciaglia Blue Dolphin(®) with an endoscopic guide.

Demographic variables, intraoperative and postoperative complications, and Intensive Care Unit and ward mortality were recorded.

Seventy patients were included. Age: 68.6 ± 12 years (68.6% males). APACHE II score: 23.5±8.7. Duration of mechanical ventilation prior to percutaneous tracheostomy: 14.3 ± 5.5 days. Perioperative complications were recorded in 25 patients. In 23 of them the complications were mild: difficulty inserting the tracheostomy cannula (n=10), mild bleeding (n=7), partial atelectasis (n=3), cuff leak (n=2), and technical inability to complete the procedure (switch to Ciaglia Blue Rhino(®)) (n=1). Severe complications were recorded in 2 patients: severe bleeding that forced completion of the procedure via surgical tracheostomy (n=1), and false passage with desaturation (n=1). None of the complications proved life-threatening. Eleven complications occurred in the learning curve. As postoperative complications, mild peri-cannula bleeding was seen in 2 patients.

Percutaneous tracheostomy using the Ciaglia Blue Dolphin(®) technique with an endoscopic guide is a safe procedure. As with other procedures, the learning curve contributes to increase the incidence of complications. Potential benefits versus other percutaneous tracheostomy techniques should be explored by randomized trials.