RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Description of Respiratory Microbiology of Adults With Tracheostomy JF Respiratory Care FD American Association for Respiratory Care SP 3607447 VO 66 IS Suppl 10 A1 Ismaiel, Yassin T A1 Othman, Fatmah Mahmoud A1 Ismaeil, Taha A1 Alruwaili, Arwa A1 Alshalawi, Badr A1 Alotaibi, Moteab A1 Alotaibi, Mishari A1 Almunem, Abdullah A1 Aljandal, Nawaf A1 Alrubiaan, Nawaf YR 2021 UL http://rc.rcjournal.com/content/66/Suppl_10/3607447.abstract AB Background: Tracheostomy is usually performed for patients who can’t maintain patent airway for breathing. In addition, it has benefits in terms of reducing the incidence of ventilator associated events (VAE), faster weaning from MV, and help patients to speak, eat, and communicate. However, infection and colonization after tracheostomy is a major complication that may increase the mortality rate. The aim is to describe the microbiology of adult patients and the prevalence of infection among tracheostomy patients in tertiary care center in Saudi Arabia. Methods: Institutional review board (IRB) approval was obtained. The study was observational cross-sectional that is conducted in King Abdulaziz Medical City (KAMC) between 2016-2020. A total of 712 patients had tracheostomy during the study period, and the calculated sample size was 400 patients. Each medical file was reviewed for patients who had tracheostomy associated infections. Additionally, demographic, and clinical information for each patient were retrieved from their electronic medical file. Results: The study included 58 patients out of 400 sample size from 2016 until 2020 and we excluded 6 patients due to missing data in medical record of the patient. There were 8 types of bacteria obtained from 52 tracheostomized patient. The results showed that the commonest type of bacteria is Pseudomonas Aeruginosa 15 (39%) and next is Klebsiella Pneumoniae 7 (18%). The least common type was Enterobacter Aerogenes 1 (3%) and Stenotrophomonas Maltophilia 1 (3%). Conclusions: Tracheostomy is associated with growth of certain microbiology on the respiratory tract. As a result in our study group, we have found eight types of bacteria obtained from 52 tracheostomized patient. Pseudomonas Aeruginosa and Klebsiella Pneumoniae have shown the commonest types of bacteria and Enterobacter Aerogenes and Stenotrophomonas Maltophilia least common. View this table:Bacteria type