Iatrogenic pneumothorax has become an increasingly recognized complication of routine outpatient procedures, such as transthoracic needle biopsies of the lung and transbronchial lung biopsies. Patients with clinically significant pneumothorax are typically managed with evacuation via a percutaneously placed catheter or chest tube. Tube thoracotomy and chest tube management have traditionally be...

O yen the past ten years, the spectrum of diagnostic techniques available to the pulmonary physician has expanded greatly. Fiberoptic bronchoscopy with transbronchial biopsy, transbronchial needle aspiration, and newly developed laser applications exemplify one aspect of the explosion. Percutaneous needle biopsy and thoracoscopy are examples of the wider scope of invasive techniques now employe...

C hest tube manipulation strategies to ensure the patency of chest tubes and mediastinal tubes in patients after cardiac surgery have been common practice among both nurses and surgeons in a variety of healthcare settings. The purpose of this clinical review is to summarize the current scientific evidence in relation to the following clinical question: Does the practice of milking or stripping ...

The incidence of recurrent pneumothoraces was analyzed in mechanically ventilated patients with the adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) or non-ARDS causes of respiratory failure who had ipsilateral chest tubes in place. The radiographs of 39 consecutive patients with 47 initial pneumothoraces were evaluated for pneumothorax recurrence and chest tube positioning, which was prospectively d...

Placement of indwelling chest tubes in horses with pleuropneumonia is an easy and safe procedure to facilitate continuous drainage of pleural fluid. Pleural lavage via indwelling chest tubes is an effective procedure to promote drainage of thick exudate, bacteria, and necrotic material from the pleural cavity. Authors’ address: Department of Large Animal Medicine and Surgery, College of Veterin...

Malpositioning is one of the most common complications of chest tube insertion and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. We present two cases of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) in whom malpositioned chest tubes penetrated through the anterior mediastinum to the contralateral pleural cavity, and were later removed without complications. Both patients h...

Background: Pericardial effusion is one of the most important complications of cardiac surgeries. Administration of a low-power suction to the mediastinal or pleural chest tube of patients helps better and constant drainage of pericardial or pleural secretions after surgeries. This technique might change the secretion and discharges of patients and might change the outcomes of surgeries. Metho...

p s l w Background. The objective of the present study was to ssess whether placing chest tubes on water seal after ulmonary lobectomy reduced the duration of air leak ompared with suction. Methods. One hundred forty-five patients who underent pulmonary lobectomy for lung cancer and with n air leak on the first postoperative day were prospecively randomly assigned to two groups: in group 1 (72 ...