Mortality Risk Factors in Patients Admitted with the Primary Diagnosis of Tracheostomy Complications: An Analysis of 8026 Patients

Background: Tracheostomy is a procedure commonly conducted in patients undergoing emergency admission and requires prolonged mechanical ventilation. In the present study, the aim was to determine the prevalence and risk factors of mortality among emergently admitted patients with tracheostomy complications, during the years 2005–2014. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study. Demographics and clinical data were obtained from the National Inpatient Sample, 2005–2014, to evaluate elderly (65+ years) and non-elderly adult patients (18–64 years) with tracheostomy complications (ICD-9 code, 519) who underwent emergency admission. A multivariable logistic regression model with backward elimination was used to identify the association between predictors and in-hospital mortality. Results: A total of 4711 non-elderly and 3315 elderly patients were included. Females included 44.5% of the non-elderly patients and 47.6% of the elderly patients. In total, 181 (3.8%) non-elderly patients died, of which 48.1% were female, and 163 (4.9%) elderly patients died, of which 48.5% were female. The mean (SD) age of the non-elderly patients was 50 years and for elderly patients was 74 years. The mean age at the time of death of non-elderly patients was 53 years and for elderly patients was 75 years. The odds ratio (95% confidence interval, p-value) of some of the pertinent risk factors for mortality showed by the final regression model were older age (OR = 1.007, 95% CI: 1.001–1.013, p < 0.02), longer hospital length of stay (OR = 1.008, 95% CI: 1.001–1.016, p < 0.18), cardiac disease (OR = 3.21, 95% CI: 2.48–4.15, p < 0.001), and liver disease (OR = 2.61, 95% CI: 1.73–3.93, p < 0.001). Conclusion: Age, hospital length of stay, and several comorbidities have been shown to be significant risk factors in in-hospital mortality in patients admitted emergently with the primary diagnosis of tracheostomy complications. Each year of age increased the risk of mortality by 0.7% and each additional day in the hospital increased it by 0.8%.