Conclusion
Among children with BPD and tracheostomies, P. aeruginosa in the respiratory tract was associated with failure to decannulate by 3 years post-tracheostomy, but neither this organism nor pathogenic organisms collectively were found to be associated with evident respiratory dysfunction. Our findings suggest a unique, less detrimental role ofP. aeruginosa in the respiratory tract may exist for children with tracheostomies compared with that in other populations. This implies that active respiratory culture monitoring may be of limited benefit in promoting respiratory health in children with tracheostomies, though further investigation is necessary to confirm these relationships.