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Background There is little information of intensive care unit (ICU) performance when it's relocated to a totally new and equipped area. Objective To analyze the clinical performance and use of resources of a new respiratory-ICU (nRICU) in a large third-level care hospital. Method Cross-sectional, comparative study using prospective data of patients admitted from July 17, 2017 to July 17, 2018. The Rapoport adjusted method was used to obtain the standardized clinical performance index (SCPI) and the standardized resource use index (SRUI). Results Out of 354 patients, those who were readmissions or remained hospitalized and those whose treatment was withheld or withdrawn where excluded from the analysis. In 301 patients, the observed survival at hospital discharge was 63% while the expected survival was 67.7%. Values of SCPI and SRUI were -1.03 and 0.05 respectively, placing results in coordinates within two standard deviations when plotted in the Rapoport chart. There was a statistically significant difference in survival when comparing the study period with outcomes obtained in the RICU before its relocation (63% vs. 55%, p = 0.01). Conclusions In its 1st year of operation, the nRICU had better clinical performance compared to the former RICU, with no change in the use of resources.

When compared with conventional surgery, bronchoscopy-guided percutaneous tracheostomy has demonstrated some advantages. We compare the results obtained with bronchoscopy-guided percutaneous tracheostomy performed by Intensive Care Unit personnel with those of conventional surgery.Prospective and descriptive cohort of patients admitted to a respiratory intensive care unit from March 2010 to March 2012.A total of 510 patients were admitted to the respiratory Intensive Care Unit. Tracheostomy was performed in 51 (10%); of which, 27 (53%) underwent bronchoscopy-guided percutaneous tracheostomy, and 24(47%) underwent tracheostomy by conventional surgery. There were no differences between bronchoscopy-guided percutaneous tracheostomy and conventional surgery groups in age (52 ± 16 vs 53 ± 18 years, p = 0.83). Simplified Acute Physiology Score-3 differed among groups (59.4 ± 11.2 vs 51.5 ± 14.3, p = 0.03). Indications for performing tracheostomy were prolonged intubation (74.1% vs 62.5%, p = 0.55), neurologic impairment (22.2% vs 16.6%, p = 0.88), and laryngeal disease (3.7% vs 20.8%, p 0.14). Mean time between intubation and tracheostomy was 13.3 days (range 4-45) vs 13.4 days (range 2-40). There were three minor complications in bronchoscopy-guided percutaneous tracheostomy patients, transient bigeminism in one, and moderate bleeding in two, and one minor complication of moderate bleeding in one patient in the conventional surgery group, p = 0.68.Bronchoscopy-guided percutaneous tracheostomy is a versatile and safe alternative for conventional tracheostomy when performed in Intensive Care Unit by personnel with expertise and appropriate training.