Table 3.

Short-term complications in a cohort of 189 subsequent patients

Complication	PDT (n = 89)	ST (n = 100)	p value*
Perioperative complications	n = 3 (3.4%)	n = 6 (6.0%)	0.397
Operative major bleeding	n = 0 (0.0%)	n = 1 (1.0%)	0.344
Postoperative granulation	n = 3 (3.4%)	n = 9 (9.0%)	0.113
Postoperative infection	n = 0 (0.0%)	n = 2 (2.0%)	0.180

Major bleeding is defined as bleeding during the procedure that requires ligation of vessels or surgical intervention. Normal haemostasis during surgery is not taken into account

PDT percutaneous dilatation tracheotomy, ST surgical tracheotomy

*The Chi-squared test was used for ordinal data