Plea for routine endoscopic tracheostomy tube adjustment

Since we found a high percentage of suboptimal tracheostomy tube positions (65%), an increased risk of complications can be assumed. With a view to the most relevant late complication of tracheal stenosis, there is agreement that the fundamental lesion begins with mucosal ulceration, which we found in 19% of the investigations. Therefore, the present data strongly suggest that a routine endoscopic control of tracheostomy tube placement should be firmly implemented into the routine tracheostomy tube management. Our data further suggest that the supply with tracheostomy tubes needs to be optimized.