Table 2 Consensus statements for tracheostomy care
1. All supplies to replace a tracheostomy tube should be at the bedside or within reach.
2. If no aspiration, tracheostomy tube cuffs should be deflated when a patient no longer requires mechanical ventilation.
3. The first change of a tracheostomy tube should normally be performed by an experienced physician with assistance from another clinician.
4. Use of a defined tracheostomy care protocol for patient and caregiver education before discharge will improve patients’ outcomes
and decrease complications.
5. Patients and their caregivers should be informed of what to do in an emergency before discharge.
6. In an emergency, a dislodged tube from a mature tracheostomy should be replaced with the same size tube or a tube 1 size smaller
or an endotracheal tube through the tracheostomy wound.
7. In an emergency, patients with a dislodged tracheostomy tube that cannot be reinserted should be intubated.
8. A patient should not be discharged from the hospital with the tracheostomy tube sutured in place.
9. Acute occlusion of a tracheostomy tube is most likely caused by a mucous plug, obstructing granuloma, or insertion of the tube into
a false track.
10. A patient can be turned in bed once the security of the tube has been assessed to avoid accidental decannulation.
Oxygen source