(1023) Establishing a National Pediatric Tracheostomy Surveillance Program

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: In March 2017, Qatar inaugurated Sidra Women & Children’s Hospital, a dedicated tertiary pediatric facility in Doha. Equipped with 400 beds, including a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) with 36 beds, and a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit & Pediatric Cardiac Care Unit (PICU & PCCU) with 24 beds, the hospital aimed to become a center for medical education and biomedical research in the region.

The Pediatric Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) department at Sidra emerged as the main provider of pediatric tracheostomy services in Qatar, and a multidisciplinary team specializing in pediatric tracheostomy was established. Currently, Sidra ENT performs 15-20 new tracheostomies per year, and cares for around 150 patients in Qatar and surrounding middle eastern countries.

Our pediatric ENT team in Qatar serves a unique patient population with high rates of genetic disorders and consanguinity in the community. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted patient monitoring and routine surveillance, and we continue to see the effects of this as we strive to return to routine in-person care and follow-up. Post-pandemic, we have noted an increased in tracheostomy-related bleeding emergencies, obstructive tracheal granuloma formation, obstructive tracheal crusting secondary to poor hydration and stoma complications amongst various other challenges. In response, we are establishing a national pediatric tracheostomy surveillance program as a standard of care for Qatar’s tracheostomized children. The purpose of this program is to centralize care for pediatric tracheostomies and enhance its safety. We aim to describe our experience in nationalizing such a program, its key stake-holders and challenges.

OUTCOME OBJECTIVE 1: Identifying key stake-holders in nationalizing a tracheostomy service

OUTCOME OBJECTIVE 2: Demonstrating the advantages of nationalizing a pediatric tracheostomy service

OUTCOME OBJECTIVE 3: Understanding the advantages and challenges of routine surveillance airway endoscopies in tracheostomized children