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Use and safety of percutaneous tracheostomy in intensive careReport of a postal survey of ICU practice

A brief questionnaire was sent to 231 clinical directors of intensive care units in England and Wales to investigate the use of percutaneous tracheostomy. There was a 76% response rate. Percutaneous tracheostomies were in use in 78.4% of units. The Ciaglia technique was the most commonly used, with 31.3% routinely using fibreoscopy as part of their technique. Only 12% of units routinely provided long‐term follow up of their percutaneous tracheostomies. Overall, 78.4% thought that percutaneous tracheostomy was safe and 66.7% considered percutaneous tracheostomy to be the technique of choice for Intensive Care patients. Percutaneous tracheostomy is now a well‐established technique. However, the limited use of fibreoscopy and the lack of long‐term follow‐up are areas of concern.