Identification of patients for a delayed extubation strategy versus elective tracheostomy for postoperative airway management in major oral cancer surgery: A prospective observational study in seven hundred and twenty patients

Tracheostomy (TT) and delayed extubation (DE) are two approaches to postoperative airway management in patients after major oral cancer surgery. We planned a study to determine the safety of overnight intubation followed by extubation the next morning (DE) compared to elective TT and to identify factors that were associated with a safe DE (maintenance of a patent airway).We conducted a prospective observational study in a tertiary referral...