691 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Rev Chil Pediatr. 2020;91(5):691-696 DOI: 10.32641/rchped.v91i5.1351 Correspondence: Yorschua Jalil: yjalilcontreras@gmail.com How to cite this article: Rev Chil Pediatr. 2020;91(5):691-696. DOI: 10.32641/rchped.v91i5.1351 Pediatric tracheostomy tube change Cambio de cánula de traqueostomía en pediatría Yorschua Jalil C. a,b,c,f , Gregory Villarroel S. a,d,f , Patricio Barañao G. a,d,f , Lilian Briceño L. a,g , Andrés Lara P. a,g , Mireya Méndez R. a,e a Hospital Josefna Martínez. Santiago, Chile b Magíster en Epidemiología Clínica de la Salud, Universidad de la Frontera. Temuco, Chile c Escuela de Kinesiología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Andrés Bello. Santiago, Chile d Carrera de Kinesiología, Departamento Ciencias de Salud, Pontifcia Universidad Católica de Chile e Departamento de Cardiología y Enfermedades Respiratorias. División de Pediatría, Escuela de Medicina, Pontifcia Universidad Católica de Chile f Kinesiólogo g Enfermera Received: Jul 31, 2019; Approved: Jun 3, 2020 What do we know about the subject matter of this study? In some health centers, only medical staff is trained to perform tra- cheostomy tube changes. However, more and more parents are ma- naging their tracheostomized children, with few reports detailing their involvement in this procedure. What does this study contribute to what is already known? Routine tracheostomy tube changes performed by trained health professionals and family members are safe. However, changing to a larger diameter cannula is risky and should be done only by health professionals. Keywords: Tracheostomy; Tube; Intensive Care; Long-Term Hospital; Stay; Airway; Caregiver Abstract Changing the tracheostomy tube in children is a key procedure, however, some of its aspects re- main unclear. Objective: To characterize the tracheostomy tube change in children from a long-stay health institution. Patients and Method: Retrospective observational analytical study based on the 2-year clinical record of hospitalized children who underwent tracheostomy. The variables evaluated were the reason for tracheostomy tube change, size and brand of the tube, operator and participants (assistants/spectators) of the procedure, complications, and education. Results: We analyzed 630 tracheostomy tube changes. The most frequent operators were relatives (33.7%). The main reason for the change was routine (83.3%). 10.7% of the changes presented some complications, where the most frequent was peristomal bleeding (47.37%) and the first failed attempt (34.21%). There was no association between the presence of balloon and complications (p = 0.24), nor with the use of Mechanical Ventilation (p = 0.8) or the operator (p = 0.74). Conclusion: The routine change of the tracheostomy tube in children with prolonged artificial airway use is a safe procedure, which can be performed by both health professionals and properly trained family members.