Conventional tracheostomy in critically ill patients: a safe procedure

Tracheostomy is a very usual procedure in critically ill patients and is assumed to have a low rate of complications when executed by experienced hands. We did not have data about this issue in our setting, so we decided to perform a prospective trial in order to observe the main characteristics of tracheostomies made in critically ill patients in two of our centers: a general ICU and a trauma ICU.