Quotes excerpted from a survey the company completed of 108 Cardiothoracic Surgeons and 108 Specialty Cardiac Surgery ICU Nurses.
Download the published survey
What the Doctors and Nurses are Saying about Chest Tube Clogging:
“All chest tubes clot to a certain extent. I have tried all types and sizes.”
“While chest tubes cause significant pain, I think the use of a less effective tube that will not adequately drain the chest will not serve the patient.”
“They always form clots and one is unsure whether or not a clear chest tube does in fact mean no bleeding which is usually not the case. There should be a better design.”
“What is needed is a way to reliably clear the clogs that occur.”
“I hate it when chest tubes clog.”
Surgeons on Stripping as a Method to Clear Clogged Chest Tubes::
“I am often worried that chest tube stripping encourages more bleeding.”
“I do not strip the drain, but I make sure that the blood and the clots do not stay in the proximal drain.”
“If the patient exhibits signs of potential tamponade, we use a Fogarty balloon catheter to clear the chest tube.”
Nurses on Chest Tube Clogging and Clearing Methods:
“Chest tube clogging increases the patient’s pain level because the nurse has to manipulate the tube to get the clots out.”
“If the clot is at the level where the tube exits the skin, it can be very difficult to remove with any method.”
“When the clot is thick, its hard to milk down and out of the tube.”
“I find the chest tubes usually clog in insertion site and usually require the doctor to come and suction them (stripping is not allowed).”
“Nurses should be protocoled to suction chest tubes when needed, as MD’s are not always available at times.”
“If clogs get hung up in the tubing in general, like lining the inside of the tubing for instance, then these clotted areas are primary places for drainage to get caught and clot or impede flow/drainage.”
“Seems like most of the clogging is closest to the patient end, where it is difficult to strip.”
“At times a patient may require an additional RN to help keep a CT patient. Most of the time there are not extra RN’s available.”
“Trying to get a CT clot out takes time – time in which I could be doing something else.”
“Immediately post-op heart surgery pt’s drainage is less serosanguinous, more bloody, requires frequent milking, attention to keep flow open, requires too much time.”
“Unclogging chest tubes can be very time consuming.”
“Most of the time the M.D.is not available to suction the chest tubes.”
“It is often hard to keep up with CT clogging if the patient is unstable and other practices are in order.”
“When it does it is usually with an unstable patient who is requiring a great deal of care. This is where the unclogging takes away from other tasks/managing of medications.”
“There is nothing worse than having your patient’s CT’s clotting off and not being able to clear them.”
Surgeons on Patient Pain from Chest Tubes:
“Pain is relatively universal with chest tubes.”
“New technology would be a welcome addition to improve patient outcome and satisfaction.”
“This is a chronic problem that needs a good solution. As surgeons since we are not the ones that deal with this from hour to hour we have not aggressively addressed this. We should.”
“I think chest tube size plays a role in pain when the tube is place between ribs, (increased pressure on an intercostal nerve) and little or no role with mediastinal tubes.”
Nurses on Patient Pain from Chest Tubes:
“Most discomfort from pleural chest tubes vs. medialstinal chest tubes occurs with positioning and taking a deep breath. This pain impairs patient ability to take deep breaths.”
“Most patients complain of pain with CT site and are relieved when removed.”
“Patients complain that it hurts to take a deep breath. They do more shallow breathing.”
“Patient’s are more comfortable after pulling chest tubes.”
“Patients generally complain about a burning sensation in their chest impeding them from moving or taking deep breaths due to fear of increase in pain.”
“In my opinion chest tubes are the second biggest source of discomfort and the largest reason for poor pulmonary toileting in post surgery patients.”
“CT’s impair patient’s ability to take deep breaths for fear of pain on deep inspiration. They usually feel a great deal of relief after tubes are removed.”
“Almost every patient I’ve had complains of pain due to chest tubes.”
“It doesn’t seem that any pain medications controls chest tube pain for the people experiencing the pain.”
“Patients 99.9% of the time complain about the chest tube pain. Not only having them in but removal of them. Even after medicating patients prior to removal, patients complain the pain was awful during removal.”