OBJECTIVES The management of chest tubes is one of the most critical aspects in patient care in thoracic surgery, and no consensus exists regarding the ideal chest tube management strategy. METHODS Chest tube management protocols and their effects on chest tube therapy were compared at four German specialist thoracic surgery units. Altogether, 79 patients were stratified for underlying diseas...

We report the case of a 29-year-old man with descending necrotizing mediastinitis and subcarinal spread secondary to oropharyngeal infection. The thoracic infection was treated by placement of a transcervical thoracic drain, which was removed 15 days after surgery. The outcome was satisfactory and no further invasive treatment was required. We believe that transcervical thoracic drainage is a u...

In this report, we detail the results of the 2010 BTS national pleural procedures audit, to which 58 hospitals covering a collective population of more than 20 million patients contributed data regarding local pleural procedure practice and training policies and the process and complications associated with a total of 824 chest drain insertions. The results highlight a promising increase in the...

http://thorax.bmj.com/content/65/1/5.full.html Updated information and services can be found at: These include: References http://thorax.bmj.com/content/65/1/5.full.html#ref-list-1 This article cites 7 articles, 6 of which can be accessed free at: service Email alerting box at the top right corner of the online article. Receive free email alerts when new articles cite this article. Sign up in t...

The methods used in .r-ray examination of the heart and great vessels of the thorax include fluoroscopy and radiography, measurement of the cardiac diameters, and special observations after a ' barium swallow \ Owing to the divergence of the rays from the anode of the x-ray tube, there is much distortion of the image if the tube is close to the chest; so, to get an accurate representation of th...

A minimally invasive technique of chest drain insertion using the Mini Step bladeless trocar is described. Thirty-one chest drain insertions were performed with this technique between January 2007 and December 2009. It is a safe, efficient, fast, and easily acquired means of chest drain insertion in children, which has a high success rate and minimal morbidity. Overwhelmingly positive responses...

INTRODUCTION Persistent air leak is frustrating for both patients and physicians, above all leaks with a high risk of surgery. Insertion of endobronchial valves could be an alternative to surgery. The aim of this study is to describe our experience in these valves and analyse their efficacy in a series of patients with persistent air leaks. MATERIAL AND METHODS The valves are inserted by mean...

We compared the outcome of children with empyema managed either through thoracotomy with pleural debridment, conventional stiff chest drain, or pigtail chest drain. Compared to conventional drain, children who received either thoracotomy or pigtail catheters had a significantly decreased period of drain in situ, were afebrile earlier, were clinically improved earlier, and were discharged earlier.

We present a patient who presented to our clinic with airway obstruction secondary to oropharygeal cancer. He underwent emergent tracheostomy with JET ventilation, the latter resulting in a "full house" of barotraumatic complications including pneumothorax, pneumomediastinum, pneumoperitoneum, pneumoretroperitoneum and pneumo-scrotum. Free air, while sometimes dramatic as in our case, need not ...

The use of nasogastric tube is desirable for the short-term administration of calories when oral feeding is not possible. Although the insertion of nasogastric tubes has been described as being easy this is not without risks. An unusual case of malpositioning of a fine bore nasogastric tube into both main bronchi in a patient that was awake is reported. Respiratory complications of misplaced na...