OBJECTIVETo investigate the appropriate extubation time and treatment of late complications after early tracheotomy in patients with moderate or severe inhalation injury.

METHODSOne hundred and fifty patients (105 males and 45 females) with inhalation injury were admitted to our hospital from January 2000 to January 2009. Among them, 109 out of 129 cases with moderate inhalation injury received early tracheotomy, and all 21 cases with severe inhalation injury received early tracheotomy. Data were collected for analysis as follows: (1) incidence of re-intubation due to suffocation and pneumonia incidence after extubation within 2 weeks or after 2 weeks post inhalation injury (PII), and mortality rate within the first week after injury were recorded. (2) Conservative treatments including expectorant, oral antibiotics, and absolute bedrest were recommended for patients who had severe cough, hoarseness or poor pulmonary function after late extubation and closure of tracheostomy wound. Fiberoptic bronchoscopy findings (tracheostenosis degree, granuloma formation rate, vocal cord paralysis rate) and pulmonary function index (FEV(1)) data were collected and analyzed in 30 cases with moderate inhalation injury and 10 cases with severe inhalation injury within 3 months after injury for follow-up. Data were processed with t test or chi-square test.

RESULTSThere was no obvious difference in the rate of re-intubation after extubation in patients with moderate inhalation injury between those done within 2 weeks PII (15/70, 21.4%) and those done after 2 weeks PII (2/25, 8.0%) (χ(2) = 1.52, P > 0.05). Pneumonia incidence in patients of moderate inhalation injury with extubation within 2 weeks PII (21/70, 30.0%) was lower than those with extubation after 2 weeks PII (15/25, 60.0%) (χ(2) = 7.04, P < 0.05). Levels of above-mentioned indexes in patients with severe inhalation injury extubated in different stages were similar to those of patients with moderate inhalation injury. Within the first week after injury, mortality rate of patients with severe inhalation injury was higher than that of patients with moderate inhalation injury (χ(2) = 11.90, P < 0.05). During follow-up, tracheostenosis rate in patients with moderate or severe inhalation injury was 100.0%; granuloma formation rate and vocal cord paralysis rate in patients with severe inhalation injury were higher than those of patients with moderate inhalation injury (with χ(2) value respectively 4.59, 13.47, P values all below 0.05). The FEV(1) value of patients with moderate inhalation injury in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd month after injury was respectively higher than that of patients with severe inhalation injury (with t value respectively 5.48, 12.10, 6.25, P values all below 0.05). The values recovered to normal level in the 3rd month after injury.

CONCLUSIONSExtubation time of tracheotomy for patients with moderate or severe inhalation injury within 2 weeks or after 2 weeks PII has its own advantage and disadvantage, and it should be performed according to specific conditions of each patient. Conservative treatment is optional for late complications of respiratory system.