Tracheostomy-related data from an intensive care unit for two consecutive years before the COVID-19 pandemic

Table 1 Baseline characteristics and comparison between patients who were subjected to tracheostomy and those who were not subjected to tracheostomy, n (%)

		Total patients	Patients with tracheostomy	Patients without tracheostomy	P value
Gender	Male	375/660 (56.8)	72/115 (62.6)	303/545 (55.6)	0.17
	Female	285/660 (43.2)	43/115 (37.4)	242/545 (44.4)
Age (yr)		60.2 ± 16.8	60.1 ± 15.2	60.2 ± 17.1	0.97
Cause of admission	CNS	345/660 (52.3)	65/115 (56.5)	280/545 (51.4)	0.32
	CVS	28/660 (4.2)	3/115 (2.6)	25/545 (4.6)	0.45
	RS	56/660 (8.5)	11/115 (9.6)	45/545 (8.3)	0.65
	Sepsis	4/660 (0.6)	4/115 (3.5)	0/545 (0.0)	0.001
	Malignancy	20/660 (3.0)	7/115 (6.1)	13/545 (2.4)	0.06
	Trauma	59/660 (8.9)	20/115 (17.4)	39/545 (7.2)	< 0.001
	Surgery	127/660 (19.2)	2/115 (1.7)	125/545 (22.9)	< 0.001
	Metabolic cause	21/660 (3.2)	3/115 (2.6)	18/545 (3.3)	1.00
Cause of intubation	Not intubated	19/660 (2.9)	0/115 (0.0)	19/545 (3.5)	0.06
	CNS	191/660 (28.9)	54/115 (47.0)	137/545 (25.1)	< 0.001
	CVS	31/660 (4.7)	8/115 (7.0)	23/545 (4.2)	0.21
	RS	42/660 (6.4)	10/115 (8.7)	32/545 (5.9)	0.26
	Trauma	34/660 (5.2)	16/115 (13.9)	18/545 (3.3)	< 0.001
	Metabolic cause	34/660 (5.2)	7/115 (6.1)	27/545 (5.0)	0.62
	Compromised airway	27/660 (4.1)	13/115 (11.3)	14/545 (2.6)	< 0.001
	Sepsis	36/660 (5.5)	7/115 (6.1)	29/545 (5.3)	0.74
	Surgery	246/660 (37.3)	0/115 (0.0)	246/545 (45.1)	< 0.001
GCS (N)		11.8 ± 4.5	9.6 ± 4.4	12.2 ± 4.4	< 0.001
APACHE II (N)		19.2 ± 8.0	19.0 ± 6.7	19.3 ± 8.5	0.65
APDR (%)		35.0 ± 24.5	33.2 ± 20.1	35.7 ± 26.1	0.29
Number of co-morbidities (N)		1.8 ± 1.5	1.75 ± 1.40	1.75 ± 1.49	0.97
Co-morbidity	Cardiovascular	329/660 (49.8)	56/115 (48.7)	273/545 (50.1)	0.79
	Metabolic	273/660 (41.4)	46/115 (40.0)	227/545 (41.7)	0.74
	Respiratory	74/660 (11.2)	13/115 (11.3)	61/545 (11.2)	0.97
	Autoimmune	10/660 (1.5)	3/115 (2.6)	7/545 (1.3)	0.39
	Malignancy	83/660 (12.6)	10/115 (8.7)	73/545 (13.4)	0.17
	Psychiatric	46/660 (7.0)	10/115 (8.7)	36/545 (6.6)	0.42
	Renal	41/660 (6.2)	6/115 (5.2)	35/545 (6.4)	0.63
	Neurological	42/660 (6.4)	9/115 (7.8)	33/545 (6.1)	0.48
	Hematological	19/660 (2.9)	3/115 (2.6)	16/545 (2.9)	1.00
	Urological	26/660 (3.9)	3/115 (2.6)	23/545 (4.2)	0.60
	Infectious	10/660 (1.5)	4/115 (3.5)	6/545 (1.1)	0.08
Days in ICU (N)		7.1 ± 9.9	21.8 ± 10.7	4.0 ± 6.3	< 0.001
Transferred to	Ward	494/660 (74.8)	75/115 (65.2)	419/545 (76.9)	0.009
	Another hospital	20/660 (3.0)	11/115 (9.6)	9/545 (1.7)	< 0.001
	Rehabilitation center	10/660 (1.5)	7/115 (6.1)	3/545 (0.6)	< 0.001
	CCU	6/660 (0.9)	3/115 (2.6)	3/545 (0.6)	0.07
	ICCU	12/660 (1.8)	0/115 (0.0)	12/545 (2.2)	0.24
Survival	Yes	542/660 (82.1)	96/115 (83.5)	446/545 (81.8)	0.68
	No	118/660 (17.9)	19/115 (16.5)	99/545 (18.2)

N: Number; CNS: Central nervous system; CVS: Cardiovascular system; RS; Respiratory system; GCS; Glasgow coma scale; APACHE: Acute physiology and chronic health evaluation; APDR: APACHE predicted death rate, ICU: Intensive care unit; CCU: Critical care unit; ICCU: Intensive coronary care unit.

Table 2 Baseline characteristics of the patients who were subjected to tracheostomy and comparison between those who were subjected to early tracheostomy and those who were subjected to late tracheostomy, n (%)

		Whole of the patients	Patients with early tracheostomy	Patients with late tracheostomy	P value
Gender	Male	72/115 (62.6)	40/63 (63.5)	32/52 (61.5)	0.83
	Female	43/115 (37.4)	23/63 (36.5)	20/52 (38.5)
Age (yr)		60.1 ± 15.2	60.1 ± 14.3	60.2 ± 16.4	0.95
Cause of admission	CNS	65/115 (56.5)	38/63 (60.3)	27/52 (51.9)	0.37
	CVS	3/115 (2.6)	1/63 (1.6)	2/52 (3.9)	0.59
	RS	11/115 (9.6)	8/63 (12.7)	3/52 (5.8)	0.34
	Sepsis	4/115 (3.5)	1/63 (1.6)	3/52 (5.8)	0.33
	Malignancy	7/115 (6.1)	2/63 (3.2)	5/52 (9.6)	0.24
	Trauma	20/115 (17.4)	10/63 (15.9)	10/52 (19.2)	0.64
	Surgery	2/115 (1.7)	2/63 (3.2)	0/52 (0.0)	0.50
	Metabolic	3/115 (2.6)	1/63 (1.6)	2/52 (3.9)	0.59
Cause of intubation	CNS	54/115 (47.0)	32/63 (50.8)	22/52 (42.3)	0.36
	CVS	8/115 (7.0)	5/63 (7.9)	3/52 (5.8)	0.73
	RS	10/115 (8.7)	7/63 (11.1)	3/52 (5.8)	0.51
	Trauma	16/115 (13.9)	8/63 (12.7)	8/52 (15.4)	0.68
	Metabolic	7/115 (6.1)	2/63 (3.2)	5/52 (9.6)	0.24
	Compromised airway	13/115 (11.3)	7/63 (11.1)	6/52 (11.5)	0.94
	Sepsis	7/115 (6.1)	2/63 (3.2)	5/52 (9.6)	0.24
	Surgery	0/115 (0.0)	0/63 (0.0)	0/52 (0.0)	N/A
GCS (N)		9.6 ± 4.4	9.3 ± 4.1	10.1 ± 4.6	0.33
APACHE II (N)		19.0 ± 6.7	18.3 ± 6.4	19.8 ± 7.0	0.25
APDR (%)		33.2 ± 20.1	31.7 ± 18.7	35.0 ± 21.7	0.38
Number of co-morbidities (N)		1.75 ± 1.40	1.75 ± 1.33	1.75 ± 1.49	0.99
Co-morbidity	Cardiovascular	56/115 (48.7)	34/63 (54.0)	22/52 (42.3)	0.21
	Metabolic	46/115 (40.0)	22/63 (34.9)	24/52 (46.2)	0.22
	Respiratory	13/115 (11.3)	7/63 (11.1)	6/52 (11.5)	0.94
	Autoimmune	3/115 (2.6)	2/63 (3.2)	1/52 (1.9)	1.00
	Malignancy	10/115 (8.7)	6/63 (9.5)	4/52 (7.7)	1.00
	Psychiatric	10/115 (8.7)	6/63 (9.5)	4/52 (7.7)	1.00
	Renal	6/115 (5.2)	4/63 (6.4)	2/52 (3.9)	0.69
	Neurological	9/115 (7.8)	7/63 (11.1)	2/52 (3.9)	0.18
	Hematological	3/115 (2.6)	1/63 (1.6)	2/52 (3.9)	0.59
	Urological	3/115 (2.6)	1/63 (1.6)	2/52 (3.9)	0.59
	Infectious	4/115 (3.5)	3/63 (4.8)	1/52 (1.9)	0.63
Reason for tracheostomy	Prolonged mechanical ventilation	25/115 (21.7)	9/63 (14.3)	16/52 (30.8)	0.033
	Compromised Airway	16/115 (13.9)	9/63 (14.3)	7/52 (13.5)	0.90
	Low level of consciousness	49/115 (42.6)	30/63 (47.6)	19/52 (36.5)	0.23
	Myopathy	25/115 (21.7)	15/63 (23.8)	10/52 (19.2)	0.55
Method of tracheostomy	PDT	96/115 (83.5)	53/63 (84.1)	43/52 (82.7)	0.84
	ST	19/115 (16.5)	10/63 (15.9)	9/52 (17.3)
Reason for ST	Facial trauma	5/19 (26.3)	5/10 (50.0)	0/9 (0.0)	0.033
	Cervical burn	1/19 (5.3)	0/10 (0.0)	1/9 (11.1)	0.47
	Difficult airway	6/19 (31.6)	3/10 (30.0)	3/9 (33.3)	1.00
	Cervical edema	1/19 (5.3)	1/10 (10.0)	0/9 (0.0)	1.00
	Goiter	4/19 (21.1)	0/10 (0.0)	4/9 (44.4)	0.033
	Re-opening	2/19 (10.5)	1/10 (10.0)	1/9 (11.1)	1.00
Complications		0/115 (0.0)	0/63 (0.0)	0/52 (0.0)	n/a
VAP		31/115 (27.0)	17/63 (27.0)	14/52 (26.9)	0.99
Pathogen isolated	None	11/47 (23.4)	7/24 (29.2)	4/23 (17.4)	0.34
	Candida albicans	1/47 (2.1)	1/24 (4.2)	0/23 (0.0)	1.00
	Klebsiella pneumoniae	4/47 (8.5)	2/24 (8.3)	2/23 (8.7)	1.00
	Acinetobacter baumanii	15/47 (31.9)	7/24 (29.2)	8/23 (34.8)	0.68
	Pseudomonas aeruginosa	10/47 (21.3)	4/24 (16.7)	6/23 (26.1)	0.49
	Staphylococcus aureus	1/47 (2.1)	0/24 (0.0)	1/23 (4.4)	0.49
	Proteus mirabilis	2/47 (4.3)	0/24 (0.0)	2/23 (8.7)	0.23
	Escherichia coli	1/47 (2.1)	1/24 (4.2)	0/23 (0.0)	1.00
	Enterococcus faecium	1/47 (2.1)	1/24 (4.2)	0/23 (0.0)	1.00
	Hemophilus influenzae	1/47 (2.1)	1/24 (4.2)	0/23 (0.0)	1.00
Days in ICU (N)		21.8 ± 10.7	18.8 ± 9.1	25.4 ± 11.5	0.001
Transferred to	Ward	75/115 (65.2)	39/63 (61.9)	36/52 (69.2)	0.41
	Another hospital	11/115 (9.6)	8/63 (12.7)	3/52 (5.8)	0.34
	Rehabilitation center	7/115 (6.1)	3/63 (4.8)	4/52 (7.7)	0.70
	CCU	3/115 (2.6)	3/63 (4.8)	0/52 (0.0)	0.25
	ICCU	0/115 (0.0)	0/63 (0.0)	0/52 (0.0)	N/A
Condition at discharge	T-piece	82/115 (71.3)	43/53 (81.1)	39/43 (90.7)	0.19
	Speaking valve	1/115 (0.9)	1/53 (1.9)	0/43 (0.0)	0.45
	Tracheostomy closure	5/115 (4.3)	4/53 (7.6)	1/43 (2.3)	0.38
	CPAP	2/115 (1.7)	2/53 (3.8)	0/43 (0.0)	0.50
	BiPAP	1/115 (0.9)	1/53 (1.9)	0/43 (0.0)	1.00
	Pressure ventilator	3/115 (2.6)	2/53 (3.8)	1/43 (2.3)	1.00
	Volume ventilator	2/115 (1.7)	1/53 (1.9)	1/43 (2.3)	1.00
Breathing at discharge	Unassisted	88/115 (76.5)	47/53 (88.7)	41/43 (95.3)	0.29
	Assisted	8/115 (7.0)	6/53 (11.3)	2/43 (4.7)
Weaning from mechanical ventilation		87/115 (75.7)	48/60 (80.0)	39/50 (78.0)	0.80
Days on mechanical ventilation (N)		18.6 ± 9.7	15.3 ± 8.5	22.8 ± 9.6	< 0.001
Survival	Yes	96/115 (83.5)	53/63 (84.1)	43/52 (82.7)	0.84
	No	19/115 (16.5)	10/63 (15.9)	9/52 (17.3)

N: Number; CNS: Central nervous system; CVS: Cardiovascular system; RS: Respiratory system; GCS: Glasgow coma scale; APACHE: Acute physiology and chronic health evaluation; APDR: APACHE predicted death rate; VAP: Ventilator associated pneumonia; ICU: Intensive care unit; CCU: Critical care unit; ICCU: Intensive coronary care unit; CPAP: Continuous positive airway pressure; BiPAP: Bi-level positive airway pressure; PDT: Percutaneous dilatation tracheostomy; ST: Surgical tracheostomy.

Table 3 Comparison between the patients who were subjected to percutaneous tracheostomy and those who were subjected to surgical tracheostomy, n (%)

		Patients with PDT	Patients with ST	P value
Gender	Male	59/96 (61.5)	13/19 (68.4)	0.57
	Female	37/96 (38.5)	6/19 (31.6)
Age (years)		62.6 ± 14.0	47.6 ± 15.0	< 0.001
Cause of admission	CNS	60/96 (62.5)	5/19 (26.3)	0.004
	CVS	3/96 (3.1)	0/19 (0.0)	1.00
	RS	9/96 (9.4)	2/19 (10.5)	1.00
	Sepsis	3/96 (3.1)	1/19 (5.3)	0.52
	Malignancy	6/96 (6.3)	1/19 (5.3)	1.00
	Trauma	13/96 (13.5)	7/19 (36.8)	0.022
	Surgery	0/96 (0.0)	2/19 (10.5)	0.026
	Metabolic	2/96 (2.1)	1/19 (5.3)	0.42
Cause of intubation	CNS	51/96 (53.1)	3/19 (15.8)	0.003
	CVS	7/96 (7.3)	1/19 (5.3)	1.00
	RS	8/96 (8.3)	2/19 (10.5)	0.67
	Trauma	12/96 (12.5)	4/19 (21.1)	0.30
	Metabolic	6/96 (6.3)	1/19 (5.3)	1.00
	Compromised airway	7/96 (7.3)	6/19 (31.6)	0.008
	Sepsis	5/96 (5.2)	2/19 (10.5)	0.33
	Surgery	0/96 (0.0)	0/19 (0.0)	N/A
GCS (N)		9.2 ± 4.3	11.7 ± 4.2	0.025
APACHE II (N)		19.6 ± 6.4	15.7 ± 7.0	0.020
APDR (%)		35.1 ± 20.3	23.6 ± 16.0	0.022
Number of co-morbidities (N)		1.9 ± 1.5	1.2 ± 1.0	0.044
Co-morbidity	Cardiovascular	52/96 (54.2)	4/19 (21.1)	0.008
	Metabolic	37/96 (38.5)	9/19 (47.4)	0.47
	Respiratory	10/96 (10.4)	3/19 (15.8)	0.45
	Autoimmune	3/96 (3.1)	0/19 (0.0)	1.00
	Malignancy	10/96 (10.4)	0/19 (0.0)	0.21
	Psychiatric	9/96 (9.4)	1/19 (5.3)	1.00
	Renal	6/96 (6.3)	0/19 (0.0)	0.59
	Neurological	8/96 (8.3)	1/19 (5.3)	1.00
	Hematological	3/96 (3.1)	0/19 (0.0)	1.00
	Urological	3/96 (3.1)	0/19 (0.0)	1.00
	Infectious	4/96 (4.2)	0/19 (0.0)	1.00
Reason for tracheostomy	Prolonged mechanical ventilation	22/96 (22.9)	3/19 (15.8)	0.76
	Compromised airway	9/96 (9.4)	7/19 (36.8)	0.005
	Low level of consciousness	45/96 (46.9)	4/19 (21.1)	0.044
	Myopathy	20/96 (20.8)	5/19 (26.3)	0.56
Timing of tracheostomy	Early	53/96 (55.2)	10/19 (52.6)	1.00
	Late	43/96 (44.8)	9/19 (47.4)
Reason for early tracheostomy	Prolonged duration of stay	36/53 (67.9)	0/10 (0.0)	< 0.001
	Compromised airway	3/53 (5.7)	5/10 (50.0)	0.002
	Trauma	10/53 (18.9)	3/10 (30.0)	0.42
	Neuromuscular disease	4/53 (7.6)	2/10 (20.0)	0.24
Complications		0/96 (0.0)	0/19 (0.0)	N/A
VAP		25/96 (26.0)	6/19 (31.6)	0.62
Pathogen isolated	None	9/39 (23.1)	2/8 (25.0)	1.00
	Candida albicans	1/39 (2.6)	0/8 (0.0)	1.00
	Klebsiella pneumoniae	3/39 (7.7)	1/8 (12.5)	0.54
	Acinetobacter baumanii	13/39 (33.3)	2/8 (25.0)	1.00
	Pseudomonas aeruginosa	8/39 (20.5)	2/8 (25.0)	1.00
	Staphylococcus aureus	1/39 (2.6)	0/8 (0.0)	1.00
	Proteus mirabilis	1/39 (2.6)	1/8 (12.5)	0.32
	Escherichia coli	1/39 (2.6)	0/8 (0.0)	1.00
	Enterococcus faecium	1/39 (2.6)	0/8 (0.0)	1.00
	Hemophilus influenzae	1/39 (2.6)	0/8 (0.0)	1.00
Days in ICU (N)		22.0 ± 10.9	20.7 ± 9.8	0.64
Transferred to	Ward	65/96 (67.7)	10/19 (52.6)	0.29
	Another hospital	8/96 (8.3)	3/19 (15.8)	0.39
	Rehabilitation center	5/96 (5.2)	2/19 (10.5)	0.33
	CCU	1/96 (1.0)	2/19 (10.5)	0.07
	ICCU	0/96 (0.0)	0/19 (0.0)	N/A
Condition at discharge	T-piece	68/79 (86.1)	14/17 (82.4)	0.71
	Speaking valve	0/79 (0.0)	1/17 (5.9)	0.18
	Tracheostomy closure	5/79 (6.3)	0/17 (0.0)	0.58
	CPAP	0/79 (0.0)	2/17 (11.8)	0.030
	BiPAP	1/79 (1.3)	0/17 (0.0)	1.00
	Pressure ventilator	3/79 (3.8)	0/17 (0.0)	1.00
	Volume ventilator	2/79 (2.5)	0/17 (0.0)	1.00
Breathing at discharge	Unassisted	73/79 (92.4)	15/17 (88.2)	0.63
	Assisted	6/79 (7.6)	2/17 (11.8)
Weaning from mechanical ventilation		70/91 (76.9)	17/19 (89.5)	0.35
Days on mechanical ventilation (N)		18.9 ± 9.7	17.6 ± 10.0	0.60
Survival	Yes	79/96 (82.3)	17/19 (89.5)	0.74
	No	17/96 (17.7)	2/19 (10.5)

N: Number; CNS: Central nervous system; CVS: Cardiovascular system; RS: Respiratory system; GCS: Glasgow coma scale; APACHE: Acute physiology and chronic health evaluation; APDR: APACHE predicted death rate; VAP: Ventilator associated pneumonia; ICU: Intensive care unit; CCU: Critical care unit; ICCU: Intensive coronary care unit; CPAP: Continuous positive airway pressure; BiPAP: Bi-level positive airway pressure; PDT: Percutaneous dilatation tracheostomy; ST: Surgical tracheostomy.

Table 4 Comparison between the patients who survived and those who did not survived, n (%)

		Survived	Did not survived	P value
Gender	Male	302/542 (55.7)	73/118 (61.9)	0.22
	Female	240/542 (44.3)	45/118 (38.1)
Age (yr)		59.8 ± 16.7	62.2 ± 17.4	0.16
Cause of admission	CNS	288/542 (53.1)	57/118 (48.3)	0.36
	CVS	13/542 (2.4)	15/118 (12.7)	< 0.001
	RS	45/542 (8.3)	11/118 (9.3)	0.72
	Sepsis	4/542 (0.7)	0/118 (0.0)	1.00
	Malignancy	10/542 (1.9)	10/118 (8.5)	0.001
	Trauma	56/542 (10.3)	3/118 (2.5)	0.007
	Surgery	115/542 (21.2)	12/118 (10.2)	0.006
	Metabolic	11/542 (2.0)	10/118 (8.5)	0.001
Cause of intubation	Not intubated	19/542 (3.5)	0/118 (0.0)	0.033
	CNS	144/542 (26.6)	47/118 (39.8)	0.004
	CVS	14/542 (2.6)	17/118 (14.4)	< 0.001
	RS	33/542 (6.1)	9/118 (7.6)	0.54
	Trauma	30/542 (5.5)	4/118 (3.4)	0.34
	Metabolic	23/542 (4.2)	11/118 (9.3)	0.036
	Compromised airway	23/542 (4.2)	4/118 (3.4)	0.80
	Sepsis	11/542 (2.0)	25/118 (21.2)	< 0.001
	Surgery	245/542 (45.2)	1/118 (0.9)	< 0.001
GCS (N)		12.6 ± 4.0	7.9 ± 4.8	< 0.001
APACHE II (N)		16.9 ± 7.0	25.1 ± 7.3	< 0.001
APDR (%)		27.4 ± 20.6	54.4 ± 23.0	< 0.001
Number of co-morbidities (N)		1.7 ± 1.5	2.1 ± 1.5	0.005
Co-morbidity	Cardiovascular	260/542 (48.0)	69/118 (58.5)	0.039
	Metabolic	217/542 (40.0)	56/118 (47.5)	0.14
	Respiratory	56/542 (10.3)	18/118 (15.3)	0.13
	Autoimmune	8/542 (1.5)	2/118 (1.7)	0.70
	Malignancy	68/542 (12.6)	15/118 (12.7)	0.96
	Psychiatric	36/542 (6.6)	10/118 (8.5)	0.48
	Renal	31/542 (5.7)	10/118 (8.5)	0.26
	Neurological	34/542 (6.3)	8/118 (6.8)	0.84
	Hematological	11/542 (2.0)	8/118 (6.8)	0.011
	Urological	23/542 (4.2)	3/118 (2.5)	0.60
	Infectious	9/542 (1.7)	1/118 (0.9)	1.00
Tracheostomy	No	446/542 (82.3)	99/118 (83.9)	0.79
	Yes	96/542 (17.7)	19/118 (16.1)
Reason for tracheostomy	Prolonged mechanical ventilation	22/96 (22.9)	3/19 (15.8)	0.76
	Compromised airway	13/96 (13.5)	3/19 (15.8)	0.73
	Low level of consciousness	41/96 (42.7)	8/19 (42.1)	0.96
	Myopathy	20/96 (20.8)	5/19 (26.3)	0.56
Timing of tracheostomy	Early	53/96 (55.2)	10/19 (52.6)	0.84
	Late	43/96 (44.8)	9/19 (47.4)
Reason for early tracheostomy	Prolonged duration of stay	31/53 (58.5)	5/10 (50.0)	0.73
	Compromised airway	7/53 (13.2)	1/10 (10.0)	0.78
	Trauma	10/53 (18.9)	3/10 (30.0)	0.42
	Neuromuscular disease	5/53 (9.4)	1/10 (10.0)	1.00
Method of tracheostomy	PDT	79/96 (82.3)	17/19 (89.5)	0.74
	ST	17/96 (17.7)	2/19 (10.5)
Reason for ST	Facial trauma	4/17 (23.5)	1/2 (50.0)	0.47
	Cervical burn	0/17 (0.0)	1/2 (50.0)	0.11
	Difficult airway	6/17 (35.3)	0/2 (0.0)	1.00
	Cervical edema	1/17 (5.9)	0/2 (0.0)	1.00
	Goiter	4/17 (23.5)	0/2 (0.0)	1.00
	Re-opening	2/17 (11.8)	0/2 (0.0)	1.00
Complications [N/T, (%)]		0/96 (0.0)	0/19 (0.0)	n/a
VAP		25/96 (26.0)	6/19 (31.6)	0.62
Pathogen isolated	None	8/40 (20.0)	3/7 (42.9)	0.33
	Candida albicans	1/40 (2.5)	0/7 (0.0)	1.00
	Klebsiella pneumoniae	4/40 (10.0)	0/7 (0.0)	1.00
	Acinetobacter baumanii	12/40 (30.0)	3/7 (42.9)	0.66
	Pseudomonas aeruginosa	9/40 (22.5)	1/7 (14.3)	1.00
	Staphylococcus aureus	1/40 (2.5)	0/7 (0.0)	1.00
	Proteus mirabilis	2/40 (5.0)	0/7 (0.0)	1.00
	Escherichia coli	1/40 (2.5)	0/7 (0.0)	1.00
	Enterococcus faecium	1/40 (2.5)	0/7 (0.0)	1.00
	Hemophilus influenzae	1/40 (2.5)	0/7 (0.0)	1.00
Days in ICU (N)		6.7 ± 9.9	8.9 ± 9.8	0.028

N: Number; CNS: Central nervous system; CVS: Cardiovascular system; RS: Respiratory system; GCS: Glasgow coma scale; APACHE: Acute physiology and chronic health evaluation; APDR: APACHE predicted death rate; VAP: Ventilator associated pneumonia; ICU: Intensive care unit; PDT: Percutaneous tracheostomy; ST: Surgical tracheostomy.