Safety and Efficacy of Rigid Bronchoscopy-guided Percutaneous Dilational Tracheostomy: A Single-center Experience

Percutaneous dilational tracheostomy (PDT) is commonly performed by a broad spectrum of practitioners. Aside from relative contraindications such as morbid obesity, coagulopathy, and complex airway anatomy, it is preferred over surgical tracheostomy in the critically ill. Rigid bronchoscopy-guided (RBG) PDT provides a secure airway, allows for unobstructed ventilation, protects the posterior membrane from puncture, and increases suction capacity.

This is a retrospective case series of patients who underwent RBG-PDT from 2008 to 2023 at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Electronic medical records were reviewed for preprocedural demographic data, procedural events, and postprocedural outcomes.

A total of 104 patients underwent RBG-PDT over a 15-year period. Median patient age was 61.95 (95% CI: 59.00-64.90), median BMI was 30.25 kg/m2 (IQR, 23.6 to 37.2) with 41.9% (32.5% to 51.3%) of patients included having a BMI over 30 kg/m2. PDT placement occurred in a mean of 13.7 days after intubation, with 70% due to prolonged mechanical ventilation resulting from ongoing respiratory failure. In all, 51.0% of patients had at least one increased bleeding risk factor, with an increased aPTT >36 seconds being the most common (36.5%). In all, 26.9% of patients underwent tracheostomy with ongoing therapeutic anticoagulation with heparin. In total, 60.6% of patients received concomitant percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube placement. No cases of pneumothorax or loss of the airway at the time of exchange of the endotracheal tube for rigid tracheoscopy were reported.

RBG-PDT is a safe and effective procedure extending the patient population appropriate for PDT when performed by an experienced Interventional Pulmonology team.