The Impact of Obesity on Adult Tracheostomy Complication Rate

Objectives/HypothesisProspectively compare tracheostomy-related complications in obese patients with complications in nonobese patients. Study DesignProspective cohort study. MethodsAdult patients undergoing tracheostomy were studied. Patients who had a prior tracheostomy were excluded. Complications were classified as intraoperative, early (within the first 2 weeks), or late. ResultsA total of 151 patients met inclusion/exclusion criteria. Fifty-five percent of obese patients experienced at least one tracheostomy-related complication; 19.5% of the control group had a complication. Mean procedure duration for patients with body mass index <30 was 24.74 minutes and for obese patients was 46.17 minutes. There was a statistically significant effect of body mass index on complication rate (P<.0001) and on procedure duration (P<.0001). The relationships between body mass index and intraoperative complications (P=.027) and early postoperative complications (P=.001) were significant. ConclusionsThe tracheostomy-related complication rate is significantly higher for obese patients, especially for body mass index 35, especially in the intraoperative and early postoperative time periods. Procedure duration is significantly longer in obese patients. Level of Evidence2b. Laryngoscope, 125:105-110, 2015