Early Tracheostomy May Reduce the Length of Hospital Stay
Table 2
Comparison of the length of stay and outcomes of the early and late tracheostomy groups.
Total (n = 1075)
Early tracheostomy (n = 552)
Late tracheostomy (n = 523)
value
ICU length of stay (days)
25 ± 20
19 ± 16
32 ± 22
<0.0001
Hospital length of stay (days)
47 ± 42
42 ± 32
52 ± 50
<0.0001
Time on mechanical ventilation (days)
23 ± 18
17 ± 14
30 ± 18
<0.0001
Time off mechanical ventilation (days)
23 ± 38
25 ± 28
21 ± 47
<0.0002
ICU outcome (survival/death)
555/520
57%/43%
46%/54%
<0.0006
Hospital outcome (survival/death)
298/777
28%/72%
28%/72%
>0.05
PaO2/FiO2 ratio
248 [183–324]
242 [175–320]
255 [192–322]
<0.03
ICU: intensive care unit. PaO2: partial pressure of oxygen in arterial blood. FiO2: fraction of inspiratory oxygen concentration: mean ± standard deviation; median (interquartile range).
