Objective  To compare the efficacy and safety of different airway humidification methods in patients with tracheotomy in weaning process.
Methods  Twelve patients with tracheotomy in the medical intensive care unit ( MICU) of the First Affiliated Hospital of Sue Yat-sen University fromSeptember 2008 to August 2009 were enrolled in which 45 case /times weaning tests in three different humidification ways were performed( 15 cases in each group) . Wet square gauze method was used in group A and traditional intermittent wet fluid drip method was used in group B. In group C, MR850 humidifier device, RT200 Venturi tube and T tube device were used to perform humidification. Comparisons were carried out between the three groups on sputum viscosity, comfort of patients before and after humidification, length of weaning time, frequencies of irritating coughs and phlegm formation during test period. Sputum viscosity was evaluated by airway secretion score ( AWSS) .
Results  There was no significant difference of sputum viscosity assessed by AWSS in group A before and after humidification( P  gt; 0. 05 ) while AWSS was significantly increased in group B and group C ( P  lt;0. 01) , implied that sputum viscosity was significantly lower than that of group A ( P  lt;0. 05) . The scores of patients’comfortwere 3. 0 ±0. 4, 5. 0 ±1. 2, and 8. 0 ±1. 7 in groups A, B, and C respectively which mean that the patients in group C felt more comfortable than those in group A and group B ( P  lt;0. 01) . Cough frequencies of groups A, B and C per hour were 0. 8,2. 6,and 0. 4 times/hour respectively in which the frequency of group B was significantly higher than those of group A and group C ( P  lt;0. 01) . The frequency of phlegm formation in group A was 7 times in 15-times offline record, which was significantly higher than those in group B and group C ( P  lt;0. 01) .
Conclusions  For the patients with tracheotomy in weaning process, MR850 humidifier device, RT200 Venturi tube and T tube device for humidification is superior in reducing sputum viscosity and phlegm formation, improving patient comfort, and reducing the occurrence of irritating cough.

Citation： CHEN Fengjia,LI Lijun,ZENG Mian. A Comparisive Study of Different Airway Humidification Methods in Patients with Tracheotomy During Weaning Process. Chinese Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 2011, 10(5): 474-477. doi: Copy