Lecture on Chest Tubes

Purpose of Chest Tubes

• Function: Used to drain fluid, blood, or air from the pleural space in the lung.
• Goal: Re-expand a collapsed lung by restoring normal negative pressure within the pleural space.
• Conditions Treated:
  • Pleural Effusion: Fluid in the pleural lung space.
  • Hemothorax: Blood in the pleural lung space.
  • Pneumothorax: Air inside the lung space.

Mechanism of Chest Tubes

• Insertion: Tube inserted into the pleural lung space.
• Drainage: Sucks out air, fluid, or blood into a closed one-way drainage system.
• Positioning: Drainage system must be kept below chest level to aid drainage using gravity.
  • Intervention for Pneumothorax: Keep drainage below chest level.

Components of Chest Tube Care

Three Chambers to Know

1. Suction Control Chamber

   • Key Terms: Gentle, steady, continuous bubbling.
   • Indication: Continuous bubbling indicates effective suction, particularly for pneumothorax.
   • Warning: Vigorous bubbling suggests too high suction.
   • Memory Trick: Like a child gently sucking a milkshake, avoid vigorous suction.

2. Water Seal Chamber & Air Leak Monitor

   • Function: Acts as a one-way valve to drain air/fluid and prevent air entry into chest cavity.
   • Tidaling: Steady rise and fall with breathing indicates proper function.
   • Continuous Bubbling: Sign of an air leak in the system.
   • Memory Trick: Like a seal floating with ocean tides, avoid continuous bubbling.

3. Collection Chamber

   • Purpose: Measure output from the lung.

Additional Tips

• Tidaling: Indicates the system's working correctly and the lung re-expanding.
• Air Leak Detection: Continuous bubbling in the water seal chamber is a critical alert.
• Memory Aid: Lifeguard analogy for no bubbling in the water seal chamber.

Conclusion

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[Applause] [Music]