Affronti A, et al. - In this retrospective, observational study, researchers assessed whether early tracheostomy was correlated with better outcomes in mechanical ventilation–dependent patients after cardiac surgery compared with a late tracheostomy. The findings from the present study suggested that early tracheostomy after cardiac surgery in subjects requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation was correlated with a shorter ventilation time and intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital stay, yet did not bring about a lower in-hospital and long-term mortality rate.