PARENTAL REPORT OF PEDIATRIC TRACHEOSTOMY CARE

Objective: There are little data on the actual care given pediatric tr acheostomy patients in their homes. Information on the use of supplies and on techniques and frequency of care is valuable for a better unde rstanding of the needs of this population. Design: Questionnaires were distributed by mail or at clinic visits from May 1995 to June 1996 to a convenience sample of tracheotomized patients at the University of Michigan Pediatric Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation clinic. Settin g: Tertiary care clinic. Results: Clean technique for auctioning was r eported by 96.7% of subjects and the rest reported sterile technique. Fifty percent of subjects reported reusing suction catheters. Cleaning solutions used to clean suction catheters for reuse varied. Tracheost omy tube reuse was reported by 55% of subjects. Sixty percent of those who reused tracheostomy tubes had had pneumonia within the previous y ear, whereas only 25% of those who never reused the tracheostomy tube had pneumonia in the same time period. Conclusions: Suctioning frequen cy, suction catheter, and tracheostomy tube reuse and cleaning methods are variables that warrant further investigation of safety and effica cy. (C) 1998 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and t he American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.