Prolonged oro- or nasotracheal intubation

From July 1975 to September 1979, 6 patients were treated with truly prolonged endotracheal intubation; the duration ranged from 55--155 days. Only patients who survived after extubation and were discharged from the hospital were included in this study. Of the 6 patients, 4 were still alive as of November 1980, 23 patients died from causes not related to the intubation. The most common complication was hoarseness, which occurred in 4 patients. During the time of the study, 3 patients who were intubated in excess of 50 days did not survive. In none of these cases was the patient's death related to the intubation. The authors believe that the risk of long-term intubation has been reduced significantly by the use of nasotracheal tubes and to the newer tube materials, which are completely biocompatible, and to improved techniques of cuff inflation. Complications to tracheostomy are less frequent, but often more serious, than complications of long-term nasotracheal intubation.