Should we allow veanaestheticsntilated patients with a tracheostomy to eat and drink?
Hospital Medicine 65(12): 764 (Dec 2004) Tracheostomy is often performed on intensive care unit (ICU) patients in order to facilitate weaning from mechanical ventilation. These patients are often fully conscious, absorbing enteral feed and keen to take oral food and drink. Specialists in intensive care and speech therapy have to weigh up the potential benefit of oral nutrition with the risks of aspiration. Furthermore, there is often disagreement between specialists as to whether the tracheostomy cuff should be inflated or deflated and how best to assess swallowing at the bedside.
