2023 Volume 116 Issue 11 Pages 1125-1130
Introduction: Patients under mechanical ventilation are not able to communicate using their voice, which reduces their quality of life. The Blom® tracheostomy tube with a speech inner cannula allows voice to be produced even in patients receiving mechanical ventilation. Therefore, we attempted to use the Blom® tracheostomy tube in two patients who were receiving mechanical ventilation.
Cases: Two patients in whom a cuffed tracheostomy cannula had been inserted were included in this study. One patient (60-year-old woman) had multiple systemic atrophy, and the other (52-year-old woman) had been admitted in a shock state and had cardiopulmonary insufficiency. We changed the tracheostomy tube to the Blom® tracheostomy tube in both patients.
The Blom® tracheostomy tube with a speech inner cannula allowed an audible voice to be produced, which enabled verbal communication and the QOL of the patients improved.
Conclusion: The Blom® tracheostomy tube with a speech inner cannula provided one option for verbal communication in ventilator-dependent patients with a tracheostomy with a fully inflated cuff. We needed to change the ventilation modes. One patient developed aspiration pneumonia, but desired to continue to use the Blom® tracheostomy tube with a speech inner cannula. Use of this device permitted verbal communication in two patients who were receiving mechanical ventilation.
