Timing of Liberation from Ventilation Assistance and Decannulation in Preterm Infants with Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia after Tracheostomy

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: We aimed to evaluate the clinical outcomes of preterm infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia after tracheostomy. METHODS: We retrospectively examined 24 preterm infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia who were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit of Seoul National University Hospital and treated with tracheostomy between January 1999 and December 2013. We collected data on the age at tracheostomy, indication for the tracheostomy, and the long-term outcomes. RESULTS: Of the admitted patients, 1.0% were treated with tracheostomy, and the median age at tracheostomy was 185 days. Fifteen patients (62.5%) were weaned from mechanical ventilation. Of these, 56.5% patients were weaned from positive pressure ventilation (PPV) within 24 months, and 81.3% were weaned from PPV within 60 months. The median time from the tracheostomy procedure to independent PPV was 15.9 months. Decannulation was achieved in 8 patients (33.3%); of these, 41.5% were decannulated within 24 months, and 69.9% were decannulated within 60 months. The median time from the tracheostomy procedure to decannulation was 48.8 months. In patients without airway disease, the time from the tracheostomy procedure to independent PPV and decannulation was 15.6 months. In patients with airway disease, the time from the tracheostomy procedure to independent PPV and decannulation was found to be extended. However, the presence of airway disease was not significantly associated with the duration of mechanical ventilation, or with the time to decannulation. The 5-year survival rate was 80.2%; the patients who did not survive died within 12 months of the tracheostomy procedure. CONCLUSION: Infants with moderate or severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia occasionally require tracheostomy tube placement for mechanical ventilation. In cases with airway disease, the time from the tracheostomy procedure to independent PPV and decannulation tended to be increased, although this increase was not significant.