Potential Alterations in Event of a Surge in Cases
The COVID-19 pandemic presents a rapidly shifting landscape of clinical care. Of primary concern within the United States at the time of this writing is the relative scarcity of mechanical ventilators to support critically ill patients. This resource scarcity could lead to a push to perform tracheostomies, though whether this would allow for a more expeditious ventilator weaning process is unclear. Continued close collaboration with our Critical Care and Ethics colleagues will be imperative to navigate this scenario should it arise. It is important to acknowledge that conditions other than COVID-19 will still need to be addressed during this time period and may require tracheostomy. The need for mechanical ventilation in patients with other conditions should be considered when developing and applying COVID-19 guidelines.