Timing and Outcomes of Tracheostomy in Patients with Hemorrhagic Stroke

OBJECTIVE: In the present study, we sought to evaluate the timing and outcomes in patients with hemorrhagic stroke who received tracheostomy. METHODS: A retrospective database search was undertaken to identify patients with hemorrhagic stroke between January 2010 and December 2018. Clinical data on basic demographics, clinical features, and outcomes were extracted. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality and secondary outcomes were hospital stay s and hospital costs. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to compare the characteristics and outcomes between patients with hemorrhagic stroke who underwent tracheostomy early (days 1-6) and late (days 7 or later). RESULTS: A total of 425 patients were identified, 74.4% (n = 316) received an early tracheostomy during the hospitalization. Patients with hemorrhagic stroke who received early tracheostomy had a higher rate of neurosurgical operation (odds ratio, 2.77; 95% confidence interval, 1.54-4.99; P = 0.001) and different types of hemorrhagic stroke (P = 0.001) in comparison with the late tracheostomy patients. In addition, early tracheostomy was associated with shorter hospital stays (odds ratio, 1.02; 95% confidence interval, 1.01-1.03; P = 0.003) and reduced hospital costs (P < 0.001) than with late tracheostomy. However, no significant difference was observed with regard to in-hospital mortality between early and late tracheostomy groups (P = 0.744). CONCLUSIONS: In our cohort, early tracheostomy in patients with hemorrhagic stroke may help reduce stays and hospital costs, but not in-hospital mortality. Future prospective multicenter studies are warranted to validate these findings.