TY - JOUR T1 - Aerosol particle concentrations with different oxygen devices and interfaces for spontaneous breathing patients with tracheostomy: a randomised crossover trial JF - ERJ Open Research JO - erjor DO - 10.1183/23120541.00486-2021 VL - 7 IS - 4 SP - 00486-2021 AU - Jie Li AU - Carla Schoenrock AU - James B. Fink Y1 - 2021/10/01 UR - http://openres.ersjournals.com/content/7/4/00486-2021.abstract N2 - The transmission route of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus remains controversial [1, 2], and concerns persist of potentially increased virus transmission and aerosol dispersion when using high-flow oxygen and aerosol devices among coronavirus disease (COVID-2019) patients [2–5]. Spontaneous breathing patients with tracheostomy represent a more direct conduit for dispersing aerosol particles with risk of virus transmission [6]. The tracheostomy procedure is considered a high-risk aerosol generating procedure and high-level personal protection equipment (PPE) is recommended when the tracheostomy is being performed for COVID-19 patients [7]. However, aerosol dispersion transmission risk of bioaerosols via tracheostomy during spontaneous breathing has not been evaluated and the impact of different humidification devices and interfaces are unknown.For stable spontaneously breathing tracheostomy patients with uncuffed airways, different humidification devices and interfaces did not generate clinically significant differences of aerosol particle concentrations https://bit.ly/2Y1HSO2We thank all the patients who participated in this study. We also thank Amnah Alolaiwat and Lauren J. Harnois from Rush University Medical Center for their help in recruiting patients and implementing the study. We also appreciate Sharon Foley from Rush University for her consultancy in statistical analysis. ER -