Role of Pediatric Otolaryngologist in Pediatric Tracheostomy Code Blue Cases: A New Safety Initiative

A "Code Blue" is a term to activate an alarm for the resuscitation team for a patient who has a cardiopulmonary arrest. The role of a pediatric otolaryngologist in a tracheostomy-related code blue case is not clearly defined. We aim to describe the role of pediatric otolaryngologists in pediatric tracheostomy code blue (PTCB) cases.

This retrospective study analyzed pediatric code blue cases in a tertiary care hospital from January 2019 to December 2022, before and after the implementation of a standardized PTCB that includes a pediatric otolaryngologist in the resuscitation team. Primary outcome variables included response time and survival-to-discharge of patients.

The most common reason for code activation was reduced oxygen saturation. The leading cause for the otolaryngology consultation was tube blockage. Tracheostomy tube change was the most common intervention performed. The mean time of otolaryngology arrival was significantly decreased from 14.0 min pre-implementation to 4.0 min post-implementation (p < 0.001). While including all 48 PTCB events, pediatric otolaryngologist involvement was significantly associated with higher survival-to-discharge (94.4% vs. 66.7%, p = 0.028). While comparing post-PTCB protocol implementation versus pre-implementation, mortality declined from 23.8% to 3.7% with increased discharge rates, although this did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.073).

Inclusion of a pediatric otolaryngologist in the resuscitation team reduces time-to-arrival of the pediatric otolaryngologist to the code blue activation site. Reduced time to pediatric otolaryngologist arrival and completion of interventions by pediatric otolaryngologist are associated with reduced mortality in PTCB events.