Ultrasound Evaluation of the Vascular Anatomy of the Neck to Minimize the Accidental Risk of Vascular Puncture During Percutaneous Tracheostomy

Tracheostomy is a commonly performed procedure in Intensive Care and its incidence tends to increase over time as a consequence of the increase in chronic diseases and the average age of the population accessing Intensive Care.

Surgical open tracheostomy (ST) is the standard procedure but has a relatively high incidence of peristomal infections and perioperative bleeding. Percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy (PDT) was introduced in 1985 and has since become a common bedside procedure. Compared to open ST, PDT has the advantages of a lower risk of wound infection, lower bleeding-related mortality, shorter procedure times, and improved cost-effectiveness.

Fiberoptic bronchoscopy is commonly used during PDT to verify the safety of direct tracheal access [5]. However, bronchoscopy-guided PDT has several limitations regarding the precise identification of cervical anatomical structures and the prevention of complications such as vascular injury.

Preliminary ultrasound examination of neck anatomy has numerous potential benefits, including increased safety during the procedure, identification of cervical vascularization, and localization of the tracheal puncture site with lower risk of complications [6-8]. Several studies have shown that the use of ultrasound in a preliminary and real-time manner can improve first-pass success rate and puncture accuracy, reduce procedure time, and complications.

The objective of this study is to map the arterial and venous vascular anatomy of the neck in order to identify points with a lower risk of vascular injury during PDT. This helps prevent bleeding during tracheostomy, which is one of the major complications associated with the procedure.