UMMAHAN DALKILINÇ HÖKENEK, JÜLİDE SAYIN KART, FATIH DOGU GEYİK, GÜLTEN ARSLAN, KEMAL SARACOGLU, RECEP DEMİRHAN
Southern Clinics of Istanbul Eurasia - 2023;34(1):1-7
INTRODUCTION: Prolonged invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) is the main cause of tracheal stenosis (TS). During the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of patients treated with long-term invasive mechanical ventilator support also increased. This study aimed to examine hospital presentations due to TS before and during the pandemic period. METHODS: This retrospective observational study was planned over the 5-year period from October 2017 to October 2022. The data of all patients who presented to the hospital due to TS were screened through the hospital’s automation system. The age, gender, presentation unit and complaints, comorbidities, etiology of TS, intensive care admission, mechanical ventilation requirement and duration, the presence of a tracheostomy, the presence of previous surgical intervention, and treatment modalities were recorded in the data form. All variables were compared between the pre-pandemic and pandemic periods. SPSS version 25 statistical software package was used for statistical analyses. The significance level was taken as 0.05 for all tests. Results: The study included a total of 60 patients diagnosed with TS, of whom 21 presented to the hospital before and 39 during the pandemic. Forty of the patients were male and 20 were female, and their ages ranged from 3 to 77 years. The mean number of presentations was 5.25 before the pandemic and increased to 13 during the pandemic, indicating a 2.47-fold increase due to COVID-19. When the groups were examined, the mean age, the presence of diabetes mellitus and hypertension, the presence of stridor, tracheal dilatation, and stenting significantly increased during the pandemic period (p<0.05). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: According to our results, the increased requirement for IMV due to COVID-19 infection also increased the frequency of TS. Due to our findings, potential cases of TS can be predicted by inquiring about the patient’s history of COVID-19 infection and IMV.
