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Published on: December 5, 2025
[Effects of two different methods for airway humidification for patients with tracheostomy: a Meta-analysis]
1Department of Nursing, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China. Corresponding author: Pi Hongying,
Objective:
To evaluate the effects of two different kinds of airway humidification for tracheostomy patients, and to provide their relevant clinical effect and suggestions for their use.
Methods:
Online databases, including PubMed, EMBASE, JBI evidence-based nursing center library, the Cochrane Library, and Chinese databases (CNKI, Wanfang database, VIP, CBM) were searched systematically up to March 2015. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were considered eligible for inclusion if the following criteria were met: no history of respiratory tract infection; satisfactory nutritional status; tracheotomy performed; 18 years older. Two different humidification methods were used. Continuous airway humidification was used in the experiment group, while intermittent airway humidification was used in the control group. Two qualified reviewers reviewed the original articles, evaluating the quality of articles, and data were extracted independently. The enrolled RCTs were analyzed by Meta-analysis.
Results:
A total of nine RCTs were included, containing 631 cases, among them 316 cases in expertment group, and 315 cases in control group. Continuous airway humidification was shown to be able to reduce the incidence of irritable cough [odds ratio (OR) = 0.20, 95% confidence interval (95%CI) = 0.12-0.34, P < 0.000?01], bleeding form mucosa of respiratory tract (OR = 0.25, 95%CI = 0.14-0.45, P < 0.000?01), sputum conglomeration (OR = 0.19, 95%CI = 0.10-0.39, P < 0.000?01), and pneumonia (OR = 0.29, 95%CI = 0.19-0.45, P < 0.000?01). The funnel plots were largely symmetrical, suggesting there was no publication bias in the Meta-analysis of two methods for airway humidification for tracheostomy patients.
Conclusions:
Because the number of including articles was relative small, and the quality of some articles was poor, it is impossible to draw a reliable conclusion that continuous airway humidification could lower the incidence of complications for patients undergone tracheostomy.
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