Background
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has become one of the largest known pandemic in human history affecting more than 233 million people across the globe [
1]. Although the majority of individuals experience mild symptoms, approximately 5–15% develop respiratory failure and require invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) [
2‐
6]. Earlier reports of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on IMV described poor outcomes, with mortality rates as high as 45–74%, and 50% of patients requiring prolonged IMV (> 2 weeks) [
4,
7‐
11].
A shorter ventilator time and ICU stay were particularly valuable during the COVID-19 pandemic, when intensive care units (ICUs) had insufficient ventilator and beds [
12]. Tracheostomy was considered an attractive intervention to potentially reduce the time on a ventilator, length of ICU stay, and mortality [
13,
14]. Nevertheless, most published guidelines in COVID-19 did not recommend performing early tracheostomy (ET) due to these early reports suggesting high mortality rates and high risk for possible virus transmission to health care workers during the tracheostomy procedure [
15‐
20]. Unfortunately, most guidelines were published at the beginning of the pandemic without data to sustain them.
This year, several studies have attempted to investigate how ET affects COVID-19 outcomes [
21‐
23]. However, whether ET improves COVID-19 outcomes is still controversial [
24‐
26]. Thus, our objective was to systematically appraise the existing COVID-19 studies examining the impact of ET on the primary outcomes of duration of IMV, duration of ICU stay, and overall reported mortality and secondary outcomes of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), time from tracheostomy to ventilator weaning, and duration of sedation.
Methods
We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis according to the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) statement (see Additional file
1 for PRISMA checklist) [
27]. The protocol for this review was registered on the International Platform of Registered Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Protocols database on August 23, 2021 (INPLASY202180088), and is available in full on inplasy.com (
https://doi.org/10.37766/inplasy2021.8.0088).
Search strategy and study selection
Two investigators (YJ and BC) systematically searched Medline, Embase, Cochrane, and Scopus database from December 1, 2019, to August 24, 2021, which was the date of our last search. Search terms included (novel coronavirus OR SARS-CoV-2 OR COVID19 OR COVID-19) AND (tracheostomy OR tracheotomy) (see Additional file
2 for search strategy). We screened the reference lists of included articles. We also searched preprint servers (namely, medRxiv, bioRxiv, and Research Square) from December 1, 2019, to August 24, 2021.
There were no restrictions on language, location, or sample size for included studies. Two investigators (YJ and BC) independently screened both titles and abstracts to determine suitability based on our primary outcomes. Relevant full-text articles were retrieved and analyzed for eligibility. A third reviewer (XF) adjudicated discrepancies, when necessary.
Studies were included if they compared ET versus LT and provided data on at least 1 of our primary outcomes. Case reports, reviews, editorials, commentaries, and practice guidelines were excluded. Articles available only in abstract form or meeting reports were also excluded. The inclusion and exclusion criteria are given in detail in Additional file
3.
Data collection and quality assessment
Data collection was performed by two independent reviewers (YJ and BC) using a prespecified data extraction form. Disagreements were resolved by discussion and consensus. We collected the following data: first author and location, study period, publication format, type of study, timing of tracheostomy, number of patients, age, gender, the rate of percutaneous dilatation procedures, duration of IMV, duration of ICU stay, mortality, VAP, time from tracheostomy to ventilator weaning, duration of sedation, major complications related to tracheostomy, and transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from patients to health care workers.
The methodological quality of the selected articles was evaluated using the Newcastle–Ottawa quality assessment scale, whereby a higher score indicated higher methodological quality [
28]. We assigned scores of 0–3, 4–6, and 7–9 for low, moderate, and high-quality articles, respectively.
Definitions and outcomes
We defined ET as a tracheostomy conducted 14 days or less after initiation of IMV. LT was any time thereafter. If a study defined ET after 14 days, we did not include the study in this review. In other words, ET/LT cut-off was defined as equal to or less than 14 days after initiation of IMV. We had 3 distinct primary outcomes: duration of IMV (from IMV initiation to discontinuation), duration of ICU stay (the number of days of stay in the ICU), and overall reported mortality (as reported at specific time points by study authors). Secondary outcomes included (1) VAP (according to study authors’ definitions of VAP), (2) time from tracheostomy to ventilator weaning (as defined by study authors), and (3) duration of sedation (the total number of days of sedation).
Statistical analysis
Meta-analysis was performed using Review Manager 5.4 (Revman, The Cochrane Collaboration, Oxford, UK). The estimation of combined continuous values and dichotomous values was expressed as mean differences (MD) or odds ratios (OR), respectively, with 95% confidence intervals (CI). When continuous values were presented as median and interquartile range (IQR), we calculated the mean and standard deviation (SD) as per Wan et al. [
29]. We combined means and SDs from multiple groups into one group, when necessary, using the formula provided by StatsToDo (
www.statstodo.com). A random-effects model was used to analyze data. Statistical heterogeneity was evaluated using the
I2 statistic.
I2 values > 0%, > 30%, > 50%, and > 75% were considered to indicate low, moderate, substantial, and considerable heterogeneity, respectively. If
I2 was > 50%, we performed a sensitivity analysis by removing 1 study at a time (guided by the highest
I2) until the sensitivity was below the threshold of 50% [
30]. Additionally, we performed another sensitivity analysis by restricting the analysis to studies published in peer-reviewed journals. Since the included studies diverged by tracheostomy timing, we performed a subgroup analysis by dividing the studies into two groups according to the methodology of determining the timing of ET into studies that considered ET within the first 7 days of endotracheal intubation and studies that considered ET within 14 days of intubation. A
p value < 0.05 was considered significant.
Discussion
By incorporating data from 14 studies involving 2371 tracheostomized COVID-19 patients, our systematic review and meta-analysis showed that ET was associated with improvement in 3 major clinical outcomes: duration of IMV, duration of ICU stay, and VAP. No differences were noted in
overall mortality and
time from tracheostomy to ventilator weaning between ET versus LT. Duration of sedation was reported by only one study, and hence, remains undetermined.
The timing of tracheostomy in ventilated COVID-19 patients has been the subject of debate [
14,
42]. Our study demonstrated that, compared with LT, ET was associated with shorter durations of IMV and ICU stay. However, overall mortality rate was similar between patients who had ET and those who had LT. These findings align with the meta-analysis recently conducted by Chorath et al. in non-COVID-19 patients [
43]. This has important implications for resource planning in a global pandemic, where the ventilator capacity is inadequate to meet heightened ventilator needs.
Evidence showed that VAP is a frequent complication among ventilated COVID-19 patients, which has a negative effect on outcomes [
44‐
46]. Our findings indicate that ET may reduce the incidence of VAP. Given that VAP was a secondary outcome and that only two studies reported this outcome, we are fully cognizant that this outcome is speculative. Regardless of this shortcoming, several previous meta-analyses have reported that ET was associated with lower VAP rate in non-COVID-19 patients [
43,
47,
48].
Although a previous monocentric study found that ET reduced duration of IMV, the reduction was specifically as a result of shortening the period from intubation to tracheostomy [
49]. By contrast, a recent multicentric study included patients from the previous study showed that ET also reduced weaning time [
37]. Our meta-analysis included this multicentric study and found a trend that patients undergoing ET had shorter duration of post-tracheostomy mechanical ventilation, although this was not statistically significant. The lack of statistical significance highlights the indication of the tracheotomy was a key factor for reducing the overall length of time required on IMV.
During the pandemic, the challenges of the logistics of patient selection, tracheostomy insertion and subsequent management, and health care worker safety may make LT seem more feasible in COVID-19 patients. One critique of ET is that ET will only free up ICU capacity in patients requiring prolonged ventilation. That is to say, it is possible that LT might lead to a reduced tracheostomy exposure, either because death occurs before tracheostomy is performed or because pulmonary recovery obviates the need for tracheostomy. However, our findings for the beneficial effect of ET on several clinical outcomes, such as duration of IMV, duration of ICU stay, and incidence of VAP, might question the current strategy of delaying tracheostomy in COVID-19 patients.
This is the largest and most comprehensive meta-analysis to date examining tracheostomy timing in patients with COVID-19. Unlike a meta-analysis included studies published before March 4, 2021 [
50], we observed a decrease in time to ventilation weaning when patients underwent ET. This is most likely attributable to the addition of several studies after March 4, 2021. Another meta-analysis has also failed to show that ET improves the rate of overall mortality, but this meta-analysis was limited due to the small number of patients investigated [
51].
Our meta-analysis also has limitations. First, our work is based on data from observational studies, which may suffer from residual confounding. Ideally, the outcomes of ET versus LT in ventilated COVID-19 patients should be evaluated in prospective, randomized trials; however, such studies are difficult to perform under pandemic conditions [
52]. Second, as concerns the outcomes of the duration of IMV and ICU stay, we noted substantial statistical heterogeneity. Nevertheless, our sensitivity analyses have also found that ET reduced duration of IMV and ICU stay. Third, there is difference in definitions of early and late tracheostomy. This may introduce heterogeneity and could affect the results. We have tried to overcome this heterogeneity through doing a subgroup analysis according to the methodology of defining ET. Fourth, there has important progress in the management of patients with COVID-19 since the first wave of pandemic, which may attenuate the benefits of ET. We have not undertaken subgroup analyses between waves due to the majority of studies being performed during the first wave. Fifth, the heterogeneity in the treatment strategies employed by various authors (e.g., the introduction of steroids, etc.) could not be controlled for. Finally, only one study used ventilator-free and ICU-free days as composite measures of the effectiveness of ET in freeing up ICU resources [
21]. Therefore, we did not choose ventilator-free and ICU-free days as the primary outcomes.
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