Objective: To describe and introduce a new technique for percutaneous dilational tracheostomy.
Design and setting: Open, observational clinical trial in patients requiring an elective tracheostomy in two intensive care units of university hospitals.
Patients: Fifty (25/25) consecutive patients requiring an elective tracheostomy above 18 years of age.
Interventions: Performance of a percutaneous dilational tracheostomy with a specially designed screw-type dilator, using a thread for the dilation procedure.
Results: In 50 consecutive patients the new device allowed a quick and safe dilation procedure without any serious bleeding complications or other relevant procedural-related side effects.
Conclusions: The described new percutaneous dilational tracheostomy device (PercuTwist, Rüsch, Kernen, Germany) represents a single-step method with a high degree of control during dilation. So far, it appears to be a safe, quickly performed procedure with a strikingly low incidence of even small bleeding complications, thus offering an interesting new alternative for the performance of a percutaneous tracheostomy.