TRACHEOSTOMY GUIDELINE - COVID 19

It is likely that in the near future that we will be called upon to carry out tracheostomy procedures on Covid-19 patients who require prolonged ventilation.  The BLA and ENT-UK agree that this would not be indicated before 10 days of intubation and ventilation and that 14 days would be more reasonable for the majority of patients.  Clearly these procedures will be high-risk, and therefore we felt that a clear, detailed guideline would be helpful.

To produce this document, we have used a guideline produced by Khalid Ghufoor and his colleagues at the Royal London Hospital, with extra information drawn from ENT-UK and National Tracheostomy Safety Project documents.

I hope you find it helpful. Good luck and stay safe.

Mark Watson - BLA President