Conclusion
This prospective study of children with a tracheostomy found that the
diagnosis of BPD was associated with an increased time to decannulation
as well as an increased duration of mechanical ventilation. While
bronchopulmonary dysplasia alone was associated with a decreased hazard
ratio for mortality, the added presence of pulmonary hypertension was
associated with an increased hazard ratio for mortality. Further
investigation using multinstituonal data to explore and corroborate
these findings would be valuable.