Lessons learned from safe tracheostomy aftercare taskforce implemented during COVID-19 pandemic

PURPOSE: At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, our institution instituted a Safe Tracheostomy Aftercare Taskforce (STAT) team to care for the influx of patients undergoing tracheostomies. This review was undertaken to understand this team's impact on outcomes of tracheostomy care. METHODS: We compared retrospective data collected from patients undergoing tracheostomies at our institution from February to June 2019, prior to creation of the STAT team, to prospectively collected data from tracheostomies performed from February to June 2020, while the STAT team was in place and performed statistical analysis on outcomes of care such as decannulation prior to discharge, timely tube change, and post-discharge follow-up. RESULTS: We found that the STAT team significantly increased rate of decannulation prior to discharge (P < 0.0005), performance of timely trach tube change when indicated (P < 0.05), and rates of follow-up for tracheostomy patients after discharge from the hospital (P < 0.0005). CONCLUSION: The positive impact of the STAT team on outcomes of patient care such as decannulation prior to discharge, timely tube change, and post-discharge follow-up makes a strong case for its continuation even in non-pandemic times.