Tracheostomy for long-term ventilated patients: a postal survey of ICU practice in The Netherlands.

Objective: To assess the frequency, timing, technique, and follow-up of tracheostomy for long-term ventilated patients in different intensive care units (ICUs) in The Netherlands.

Design And Setting: Postal questionnaire, survey on retrospective data. A questionnaire was sent to all ( n=63) ICUs with six or more beds suitable for mechanical ventilation and officially recognized by The Netherlands Intensive Care Society.