The Management of Percutan Tracheostomy in Intensive Care Unit During COVID -19 Pandemic

Aim; Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has led to a dramatic increase in critically ill patients requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation. Many of these patients require tracheostomies due to prolonged intubation times, respiratory failure, and the need for prolonged ventilatory support. Material and Method; A retrospective analysis was performed on critically ill COVID- 19 patients who were admitted to our ICU and required prolonged mechanical ventilation. Our primery outcome is presenting our experience for performing tracheostomy in COVID-19 patients. Ultrasound guided percutaneous tracheostomy was performed at the bedside in all patients. Results; All percutaneous tracheostomies were performed successfully without complications. The tracheostomy procedure was performed on an average of 14 days after intubation. The mean age of the patients was 71 years, and most had underlying comorbidities such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and obesity. Conclusion; Our experience with ultrasound-guided percutaneous tracheostomy in 17 COVİD 19 patients demonstrated that this method is a safe and effective approach in critically ill patients.