Reply to {"}Indications and timing for tracheostomy in patients with SARS CoV2-related{"} by Ferri et al

We sincerely appreciate the interest of Ferri et al. in our study and we are grateful for the valuable comments and feedback which have allowed us to respond with some clarifcations [1]. The Letter to the Editor by Ferri et al. is merely focused on the timing of the tracheostomy, which actually is not the main aspect of the editorial letter by Mattioli et al. [2]. Ferri et al. suggested that tracheostomy should be performed in stable or clinically improved patients afected by Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), not before the 20th day after orotracheal intubation. The authors support the “late tracheostomy protocol” thesis on 8 patients undergoing open tracheostomy declaring a negative prognostic trend for the subgroup of patients with shorter duration of intubation. We deem it inappropriate to draw conclusion with such a small cohort of patients and without any data and explanations regarding the reasons why an earlier tracheostomy would lead to worse survival.