BACKGROUND: This was a pilot study to analyze the effects of tracheostomy on patient-ventilator asynchronies and respiratory system mechanics. Data were extracted from an ongoing prospective, real-world database that stores continuous output from ventilators and bedside monitors. Twenty adult subjects were on mechanical ventilation and were tracheostomized during an ICU stay: 55% were admitted to the ICU for respiratory failure and 35% for neurologic conditions; the median duration of mechanical ventilation before tracheostomy was 12 d; and the median duration of mechanical ventilation was 16 d. METHODS: We compared patient-ventilator asynchronies (the overall asynchrony index and the rates of specific asynchronies) and respiratory system mechanics (respiratory-system compliance and airway resistance) during the 24 h before tracheostomy versus the 24 h after tracheostomy. We analyzed possible differences in these variables among the subjects who underwent surgical versus percutaneous tracheostomy. To compare longitudinal changes in the variables, we used linear mixed-effects models for repeated measures along time in different observation periods. A total of 920 h of mechanical ventilation were analyzed. RESULTS: Respiratory mechanics and asynchronies did not differ significantly between the 24-h periods before and after tracheostomy: compliance of the respiratory system median (IQR) (47.9 [41.3 – 54.6] mL/cm H(2)O vs 47.6 [40.9 – 54.3] mL/cm H(2)O; P = .94), airway resistance (9.3 [7.5 – 11.1] cm H(2)O/L/s vs 7.0 [5.2 – 8.8] cm H(2)O/L/s; P = .07), asynchrony index (2.0% [1.1 – 3.6%] vs 4.1% [2.3 – 7.6%]; P = .09), ineffective expiratory efforts (0.9% [0.4 – 1.8%] vs 2.2% [1.0 – 4.4%]; P = .08), double cycling (0.5% [0.3 – 1.0%] vs 0.9% [0.5 – 1.9%]; P = .24), and percentage of air trapping (7.6% [4.2 – 13.8%] vs 10.6% [5.9 – 19.2%]; P = .43). No differences in respiratory mechanics or patient-ventilator asynchronies were observed between percutaneous and surgical procedures. CONCLUSIONS: Tracheostomy did not affect patient-ventilator asynchronies or respiratory mechanics within 24 h before and after the procedure
