Effect of different airway humidification methods on sputum excretion of tracheotomy patients

Abstract

Objective To discuss the effect of different airway humidification methods on sputum excretion of tracheotomy patients.Methods Totals of 80 cases of tracheotomy patients were randomly divided into the experimental group of 40 patients and the control group of 40 patients.The experimental group used oxygen therapy in wet pipe (RT 308 piping),while the control group used T-tube atomizer for airway humidification.The effect of two methods on sputum viscosity,airway humidification,and clean-up time of the respiratory mucus were observed and compared.Results The sputum viscosity were respectively 65％,30％ and 5％ for degree Ⅰ,Ⅱ and Ⅲ in the experimental group,better than that in the control group (10％,50％and 40％),and the differences were statistically significant (x2 =14.1,P ＜ 0.05).Effect of airway humidification was also better in the experimental group than in the control group,and the difference was statistically significant (x2 =45.2,P ＜ 0.05).Clean-up time of the respiratory mucus was (3.32 ± 1.72) h in the experimental group,and (1.62 ± 1.23) h in the control group,and the difference was statistically significant (t =5.152,P ＜ 0.01).Conclusions The oxygen therapy in wet pipe (RT 308 piping) is better than the T-tube atomizer on sputum viscosity,airway humidification effect,and clean-up time of the respiratory mucus,which can relieve patients' suffering due to repeated suctioning. Key words: Tracheotomy; Airway humidification ; Sputum excretion ; Oxygen humidification piping; T-tube atomizer