Tracheotomy as a predictor of remission and demise for juvenile-onset recurrent respiratory papillomatosis

Backgroud The pros and cons of tracheotomy, as a classic treatment of juvenile-onset recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (JORRP), have gradually been recognized, but the exact impact of tracheotomy on remission and demise is not clear. Objectives To investigate the predicting influence of tracheotomy on prognosis for JORRP. Material and methods Three hundred forty two patients with JORRP treated in Beijing Tongren Hospital were retrospectively reviewed. The clinical characteristics and prognosis parameters were compared in the group of tracheotomy and non-tracheotomy. Results The rate of tracheotomy was 24.6% (84/342). Among these patients, 68 (81.0%) developed the tracheal papillomatosis. The onset age of RRP occurred earlier in tracheostomized group, and patients performed tracheotomy needed a greater number of surgeries and developed distal spread more easily (p < .05). The remission rate was significantly lower (35.1 vs. 53.7%) and the mortality higher (13.1 vs. 1.2%) in patients with tracheotomy than non-tracheotomy. Tracheotomy decreased odds of remission (OR = 0.48; 95%CI: 0.28-0.83) and increased odds of demise (OR = 11.98; 95%CI: 3.21-44.65). Conclusions The age at diagnosis, the surgical frequency and the medical level of hospital are important factors affecting the occurrence of tracheotomy. Patients who had undergone tracheotomy are prone to possess the low remission rate and high mortality.