Table 1.

Baseline characteristics

Variables	Tracheostomy		Cricothyroidotomy + tracheostomy
	Trauma N = 38	Non-trauma N = 7	Trauma N = 3	Non-trauma N = 4
Demographics	Median (IQR)	Median (IQR)	Median (IQR)	Median (IQR)
Age (years)	55 (37)	67 (9)	39**	62 (24)
BMI	24 (9)	27 (6)	25**	28 (11)

Variables	Tracheostomy		Cricothyroidotomy + tracheostomy
	Trauma N = 38	Non-trauma N = 7	Trauma N = 3	Non-trauma N = 4
	N (%)	N (%)	N (%)	N (%)
Male	25 (66)	4 (57)	3 (100)	1 (25)
Diabetes mellitus	4 (11)	1 (14)	0 (0)	0 (0)
ASA score
1	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)
2	23 (61)	1 (14)	2 (67)	0 (0)
3	15 (40)	6 (86)	1 (33)	3 (75)
4	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	1 (25)
Cervical characteristics
Obesity	7 (18)	1 (14)	0 (0)	1 (25)
Anatomical abnormalities	4 (11)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)
Surgical history in cervical region	1 (3)	1 (14)	0 (0)	0 (0)
Pre-tracheostomy swallowing dysfunction	7 (18)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)
Excessive sputum pre-tracheostomy	15 (40)	3 (43)	0 (0)	1 (25)

Variables	Tracheostomy		Cricothyroidotomy + tracheostomy
	Trauma N = 38	Non-trauma N = 7	Trauma N = 3	Non-trauma N = 4
Clinical characteristics	Median (IQR)	Median (IQR)	Median (IQR)	Median (IQR)
ISS*	27 (15)	–	22**	–
Vital signs at day of tracheostomy
Systolic blood pressure	120 (35)	120 (38)	90**	132 (17)
Diastolic blood pressure	70 (20)	67 (30)	75**	64.8 (12)
Heart rate	93 (37)	87 (41)	90**	95 (34)

Variables	Tracheostomy		Cricothyroidotomy + tracheostomy
	Trauma N = 38	Non-trauma N = 7	Trauma N = 3	Non-trauma N = 4
	N (%)	N (%)	N (%)	N (%)
ISS > 15*	32 (84)	–	2 (67)	–
GCS*
GCS motor ≤ 3	18 (47)	1 (14)	1 (33)	2 (25)
GCS ≤ 8	20 (53)	1 (14)	1 (33)	2 (25)
ICU admission	38 (100)	6 (86)	3 (100)	3 (75
IMCU admission	0 (0)	1 (14)	0 (0)	1 (25)
Trauma injury specifics
Head injury	23 (61)	0 (0)	1 (33)	0 (0)
Brain injury*
Mild (GCS motor 4–5)	9 (24)	0 (0)	1 (33)	0 (0)
Severe (GCS motor ≤ 3)	18 (47)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)
Cervical osseous injury	19 (50)	0 (0)	2 (67)	0 (0)
Cervical spinal cord injury
Level C1-C4	5 (13)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)
Level C5-C8	2 (5)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)
Procedural specifics
Time from trauma/initial surgery to tracheostomy
Early (≤ 14 days) tracheostomy	28 (74)	3 (43)	3 (100)	4 (100)
Late (> 14 days) tracheostomy	10 (27)	4 (57)	0 (0)	0 (0)
Indication for tracheostomy
Physically threatened airway	3 (8)	0 (0)	1 (33)	1 (25)
Insufficient respiratory function	34 (90)	6 (86)	0 (0)	0 (0)
Alternative way of airway management	1 (3)	1 (14)	2 (67)	3 (75)
Incision type*
Longitudinal	26 (69)	2 (29)	2 (67)	2 (50)
U-shaped	9 (24)	2 (29)	0 (0)	1 (25)

IQR Interquartile range, BMI Body Mass Index, ASA American society of Anesthesiologists, ISS Injury severity score, GCS Glasgow coma scale, ICU Intensive care unit, IMCU Intermediate care unit

*Missing data: ISS was missing in 8% (n = 3) of trauma tracheostomy patients. No ISS was scored in non-trauma patients. GCS was missing in 9% (n = 4) of total tracheostomy patients; GCS was missing in 5% (n = 2) of trauma tracheostomy patients and in 29% (n = 2) of non-trauma tracheostomy patients. GCS was missing in 2 of non-trauma cricothyroidotomy + tracheostomy patients. Incision type was missing in 15% (n = 7) of total tracheostomy patients; Incision type was missing in 8% (n = 3) of trauma tracheostomy patients and in 43% (n = 3) of non-trauma tracheostomy patients. Incision type was missing in 33% (n = 1) of trauma cricothyroidotomy + tracheostomy patients and in 25% (n = 1) of non-trauma cricothyroidotomy + tracheostomy patients

**In several cases, IQR could not be presented due to group size of n ≤ 3