Decannulation factors in patients after serious brain injuries

Hanna Mackiewicz-Nartowicz; Magdalena Mackiewicz-Milewska; Sabina Lach; Anna Szymańska-Skrzypek; Arkadiusz Owczarek; Anna Sinkiewicz

Vol 7, No 2 (2008)

Original articles

Published online: 2008-06-27

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Decannulation factors in patients after serious brain injuries

Hanna Mackiewicz-Nartowicz, Magdalena Mackiewicz-Milewska, Sabina Lach, Anna Szymańska-Skrzypek, Arkadiusz Owczarek, Anna Sinkiewicz

Advances in Palliative Medicine 2008;7(2):69-72.

Vol 7, No 2 (2008)

Original articles

Published online: 2008-06-27

Abstract

Background. Patients with a long term tracheotomy (longer than 4 weeks) are quite frequent patients in the Neurorehabilitation Wards. These are especially patients after serious traumatic brain injuries, ischemic or hemorrhagic strokes, ischemic brain injuries and others. A correct multidisciplinary treatment requires a very close cooperation of: physiotherapists, neurologists, laryngologists and speech therapists. The aim of our study was to analyze factors that may influence positive decanulation in patients with tracheotomy performed because of the traumatic brain injury, stroke or cardiac arrest.
Methods. Our material includes 127 patients hospitalized in our Department of Rehabilitation between 2002 and 2005. All of them had tracheotomy performed after the brain injury. We analyzed factors like: age, sex, cause of tracheotomy, GCS scale, duration of tracheotomy, concomitant diseases, microbiology examination of the bronchial secretion and the influence of these factors on decanulation.
Results. We confirmed that young age (less than 40), traumatic brain injury and short time of tracheotomy are the positive decannulation factors.