Clinicians who work with tracheostomized and mechanically ventilated patients should understand how normal respiratory and phonatory systems work, and how much functionality is disrupted with a tracheotomy. When working with tracheostomized patients, a detailed history of the airway will determine the care plan(s) - from insertion to decannulation. It is important to know how long the patient may have been intubated prior to the tracheotomy, indications for tracheotomy, which surgical procedure was used, and if it was an elective or an emergency tracheotomy.
The reasons a person might need a tracheostomy are:
The length of time that an individual has a tracheostomy varies. It can be required for short-term, long-term and in some cases it can be permanent.
The reasons a person might need a tracheostomy are:
- To provide a patent and secure airway to maintain ventilation and oxygenation for patients with chronic respiratory failure, progressive neuromuscular disease, and spinal cord injury
- To allow easy access for secretion removal
- To bypass an airway obstruction due to sleep apnea, trauma, foreign body, obstructive tumor, surgery, infection or airway anomaly
- To prevent laryngeal and upper airway damage due to prolonged translaryngeal intubation
- To provide an emergent airway when intubation is not possible
The length of time that an individual has a tracheostomy varies. It can be required for short-term, long-term and in some cases it can be permanent.