1 INTRODUCTION
COVID-19 was first detected in Wuhan, China in 2019 and has since spread
worldwide.1 Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has higher
infectivity and transmission rates than severe acute respiratory
syndrome (SARS).2 The majority of those infected
exhibit mild flu-like symptoms, but 20-30% of symptomatic patients
require intensive care for respiratory distress due to pneumonia or ARDS
(acute respiratory distress syndrome).3 Some of these
patients require mechanical ventilation, and procedures such as
tracheostomy present the risk of occupational exposure due to aerosol
dissemination.4 Several reports have described means
of minimizing aerosol transmission during and immediately after
tracheostomy.5,6 Here, we report a safe and rapid
hybrid modified percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy (hybrid MPDT)
technique that reduces the risk of COVID-19 aerosol transmission.