CURRENT TRENDS IN PEDIATRIC TRACHEOTOMY

A retrospective analysis was performed on 103 pediatric patients, less than 5 years of age, undergoing tracheotomy at New York Hospital betw een 1980 and 1990. Charts were reviewed with respect to primary diagno sis, indication for tracheotomy, duration of the tracheotomy, complica tion rate and mortality rate, Approximately 62% of the tracheotomies w ere performed in patients less than 12 months of age, with the most co mmon indication being an acquired or congenital airway abnormality, Th e number of patients receiving tracheotomies for neurological disorder s, however, increased more than threefold over the course of this revi ew, Approximately one-third of the patients experienced immediate, ear ly or delayed complications. There was a significant correlation betwe en the complication rate and weight at the time of the tracheotomy as well as the degree of prematurity of the child. Over one half of the i nfants under 2000 g suffered complications. A mortality rate of 2.9% w as noted in our study with mucous plugging of the tracheotomy being th e most common etiology of death.