Table 2
Consensus statements for tracheostomy care
Scheduled Changes of Tracheostomy Tubes
Currently, no empirical evidence indicates a standardized time for changing a tracheostomy tube, and changes are typically done according to the preference of the health care provider. White et al17 suggest that indications for changing a tracheostomy tube include the need for a different size tube, tube malfunction, need for a different type of tube, and routine changes for ongoing airway management and prevention of infection. They suggest that a tracheostomy tube should be changed every 7 to 14 days after initial insertion, but they acknowledge that no evidence supports that recommendation. Mitchell et al2 recommend replacing the initial tracheostomy tube within 10 to 14 days after placement if a percutaneous procedure was used to establish the tracheostomy and within 3 to 7 days if a surgical procedure was used. A tracheostomy tube inserted percutaneously fits more tightly within the stoma than does a tube that was inserted through a surgical incision. If a tracheostomy tube is changed prematurely, the tissue of the dilated stoma tract is more likely to recoil than it would if the change were done later.18 In addition, Mitchell et al2 recommend that patients should not be discharged from the hospital with the tracheostomy tube sutured in place because the first tracheostomy tube change should be done before discharge.
Changing tracheostomy tubes can correct problems that cause ventilator asynchrony, improve comfort by reducing tube size, and correct a cuff leak due to tracheomalacia or malposition or fracture of the tracheostomy tube or flange.17 Most manufacturers recommend changing the tubes every 1 to 2 months; however, Yaremchuk19 found that routine tube changes every 2 weeks decreased the formation of granulation tissue. In a study by Björling et al,20 electron micrographs of plastic tubes revealed visible surface changes after 30 days in all types of tubes studied: polyvinyl chloride, silicone, and polyurethane.