Effects of a modified Singh's algorithm care bundle on cannulation success rate in patients with neurological...

Prolonged tracheostomy tube placement leads to depression, communicative inconvenience, reduced life quality, and health complications. We retrospectively examined the effects of a modified Singh's algorithm (MOSA) care bundle in tracheostomy tube removal in patients with neurological sequelae.

We retrieved medical records of 22 tracheostomized patients admitted to our early rehabilitation ward from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2020 and compared their clinical outcomes before and after the MOSA introduction. We used a decannulation checklist and outcomes of decannulation training to judge the decannulation opportunity in the intervention group. In the control group, the patients received decannulation based on professional judgments.

Age, gender, body mass index, and admission diagnosis were not significantly different between the two groups. While 10 of 13 patients (76.9%) successfully decannulated in the intervention group, only 1 of 9 patients in the control group succeeded (11.1%; p = 0.008). The decannulation evaluation checklist revealed no statistically significant difference between the two groups except that the intervention group received more airway patency evaluations (p = 0.027). None of the decannulated patients required tracheostomy tube reinsertion before discharge, and no complications appeared.

Our study supports the feasibility of MOSA in aiding decannulation among patients with neurological illnesses. Further cluster randomized controlled trials and studies of decision aids and shared decision-making are warranted to help promote active decannulation.