Tracheostomy Practices and Outcomes in Patients With COVID-19 Supported by Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation: An Analysis of the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization Registry

Joseph G Kohne; Graeme MacLaren; Leigh Cagino; Philip S Boonstra; Daniel Brodie; Ryan P Barbaro

doi:10.1097/CCM.0000000000005579

Tracheostomy Practices and Outcomes in Patients With COVID-19 Supported by Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation: An Analysis of the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization Registry

Crit Care Med. 2022 Sep 1;50(9):1360-1370. doi: 10.1097/CCM.0000000000005579. Epub 2022 May 16.

Authors

Joseph G Kohne^{1

2}, Graeme MacLaren³, Leigh Cagino⁴, Philip S Boonstra⁵, Daniel Brodie^{6

7}, Ryan P Barbaro^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Division of Critical Care Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
² Susan B. Meister Child Health Evaluation and Research Center, University of Michigan School of Medicine, Ann Arbor, MI.
³ Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit, National University Health System, Singapore.
⁴ Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
⁵ School of Public Health, Department of Biostatistics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
⁶ Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY.
⁷ Center for Acute Respiratory Failure, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY.

Abstract

Objectives: The use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in patients with COVID-19 has been supported by major healthcare organizations, yet the role of specific management strategies during ECMO requires further study. We sought to characterize tracheostomy practices, complications, and outcomes in ECMO-supported patients with acute respiratory failure related to COVID-19.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: ECMO centers contributing to the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization Registry.

Patients: Patients 16 years or older receiving venovenous ECMO for respiratory support for: 1) COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021 (through October 2021) and 2) pre-COVID-19 viral pneumonia in 2019.

Interventions: None.

Measurements and main results: We identified 7,047 patients who received ECMO support for acute respiratory failure related to COVID-19. A total of 32% of patients were recorded as having a tracheostomy procedure during ECMO, and 51% had a tracheostomy at some point during hospitalization. The frequency of tracheostomy was similar in pre-COVID-19 viral pneumonia, but tracheostomies were performed 3 days earlier compared with patients with COVID-19 (median 6.7 d [interquartile range [IQR], 3.0-12.0 d] vs 10.0 d [IQR, 5.0-16.5 d]; p < 0.001). More patients were mobilized with pre-COVID-19 viral pneumonia, but receipt of a tracheostomy during ECMO was associated with increased mobilization in both cohorts. More bleeding complications occurred in patients who received a tracheostomy, with 9% of patients with COVID-19 who received a tracheostomy reported as having surgical site bleeding.

Conclusions: Tracheostomies are performed in COVID-19 patients receiving ECMO at rates similar to practices in pre-COVID-19 viral pneumonia, although later during the course of ECMO. Receipt of a tracheostomy was associated with increased patient mobilization. Overall mortality was similar between those who did and did not receive a tracheostomy.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

COVID-19* / therapy
Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation* / methods
Humans
Registries
Respiratory Distress Syndrome*
Respiratory Insufficiency*
Retrospective Studies
Tracheostomy / methods

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding