Table 1.
Characteristics of studies included in systematic review
| First author, location | Study period | Publication format | Type of study | Definition of early versus late tracheostomy, days | Number of patients, early versus late groups | Age, early versus late groups, yearsa | Female patients, early versus late groups, n (%) | PDT, early versus late groups, n (%) | Major complications of tracheostomyb | Number of infections in health care workers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Angel LF, USA | March 11 to April 29, 2020 | Journal | Prospective, multicenter | ≤ 13 versus > 13 | 89 versus 89 | 59 (46–67) versus 64 (55–70) | 23 (20) versus 26 (29) | All in both groups | 12 moderate-to-severe bleedingb | None |
| Arnold J, USA | March 2020 to January 2021 | Preprint | Retrospective, single center | ≤ 14 versus > 14 | 12 versus 47 | NA | NA | All in both groups | None | None |
| Breik O, UK | March 9, 2020, to April 21, 2020 | Journal | Prospective, single center | ≤ 14 versus > 14 | 64 versus 36 | NA | NA | NA | None | None |
| Chandran A, India | April 1, 2020, to January 31, 2021 | Journal | Prospective, single center | ≤ 10 versus > 10 | 32 versus 19 | NA | NA | None in both groups | None | None |
| Glibbery N, UK | March 15, 2020, to May 15, 2020 | Journal | Prospective, single center | ≤ 14 versus > 14 | 9 versus 19 | NA | NA | NA | None | None |
| Hansson A, Sweden | March 14, 2020, to March 13, 2021 | Preprint | Retrospective, multicenter | ≤ 7 versus > 7 | 56 versus 61 | 67 (22–87) versus 65 (18–83) | 10 (18) versus 17 (28) | NA | 1 tracheal injury | NA |
| 1 perioperative hypoxemia ( SpO2 < 80%) | ||||||||||
| Hernandez Gc, Spain | February 15 to May 15, 2020 | Journal | Retrospective, multicenter | ≤ 14 versus > 14 | 382 versus 300 | 63.5 ± 10.4 versus 63.6 ± 10.1 | 116 (30) versus 77 (26) | 198 (52) versus 149 (50) | 82 bleeding that required transfusion or surgical control | NA |
| Livneh N, Israel | March 2020 to January 2021 | Journal | Retrospective, single center | ≤ 7 versus > 7 | 19 versus 19 | 60 (54–67) versus 68 (59–74) | 3 (16) versus 2 (11) | None in both groups | NA | None |
| Mahmood Kd, USA | February 1, 2020, to September 4, 2020 | Journal | Retrospective, multicenter | ≤ 14 versus > 14 | 9 versus 109 | NA | NA | 9 (100) versus 49 (80) | None | NA |
| Prats-Uribe A, Spain | March 11, 2020, to July 20, 2020 | Preprint | Prospective, multicenter | 7–10 versus > 10 | 142 versus 554 | 60.2 ± 10.0 versus 63.8 ± 8.9 | 53 (37) versus 166 (30) | NA | 135 bleeding that required revision of stoma | NA |
| Takhar A, UK | March 21 to May 20, 2020 | Journal | Prospective, single center | < 14 versus ≥ 14 | 24 versus 57 | 58.4 ± 11.8 versus 50.6 ± 11.8 | 9 (37.5) versus 17 (29.8) | NA | 1 tracheal injury | None |
| 1 intraoperative oxygen desaturations (SpO2 < 90%) | ||||||||||
| Tang Y, China | January 8, 2020, to March 25, 2020 | Journal | Retrospective, multicenter | ≤ 14 versus > 14 | 30 versus 50 | 66.5 ± 15.1 versus 62.3 ± 13.2 | 9 (30) versus 16 (32) | 27 (90) versus 36 (72) | 4 major bleeding that required blood transfusion | NA |
| Tetaj N, Italy | April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021 | Journal | Retrospective, single center | ≤ 12 versus > 12 | 61 versus 59 | 70 (64–77) versus 65 (69–73) | 19 (31) versus21 (36) | All in both groups | None | None |
| Volo T, Italy | February 22 to April 26, 2020 | Journal | Retrospective, single center | ≤ 10 versus > 10 | 9 versus 14 | NA | NA | NA | 1 bleedingb | None |
NA, not available; PDT, percutaneous dilational tracheostomy
aAge is expressed as mean ± SD or median (interquartile range)
bmajor complications of tracheostomy were defined as excessive bleeding (determined by need for blood transfusion or an additional operative intervention), tracheal or oesophageal injury, a severe hypoxic episode (saturation < 90%), or death attributed to tracheostomy. In the studies by Angel et al. and Volo T et al., they did not describe how to manage the bleeding.
cIn the study by Hernandez et al., there were five groups: ≤ 7 days, 8–10 days, 11–14 days, 15–20, ≥ 21 days. The first three groups were combined (hence, the value for age) and considered as early tracheostomy group. The last two groups were combined (hence, the value for age) and considered as late tracheostomy group.
dIn the study by Mahmood et al., there were three groups: ≤ 14 days, 15–21 days, > 21 days. The last two groups were combined (hence, the value for age) and considered as late tracheostomy group