Early Tracheostomy May Be Performed Safely in Obese COVID-19 Patients Supported on VV-ECMO.

Objective: Obese patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-associated acute respiratory failure (ARDS) often require prolonged intubation. However, data are sparse regarding optimal tracheostomy timing in obese adults with COVID-19 requiring venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO). This study retrospectively describes the course of obese patients with COVID-19 who underwent tracheostomy on VV-ECMO between March 2020 and December 2022.