How often does chest tube clogging occur?
- Chest tube clogging is more common than many people think. Many ICU nurses will tell you they see this in about 50% of patients, manifested by strands of clot forming in the tubes that they have to strip or tap or milk to break it up and keep the tubes flowing. Nurses generally rely on visible evidence that there is clot in the portion of the tube that exits the skin. This can be deceiving, however. Studies with CAT scans in patients with chest tubes suggest the tube can be clogged internally even when there is no evidence of clogging in the external portion of the chest tube that exits the skin.
Are there patient populations where chest tube clogging is more common?
- This is more common in patients that have brisk post-operative bleeding compared to those that do not. Many studies suggest that between 40% to 50% of patients after heart surgery have “excessive post-operative bleeding,” meaning more than a certain threshold amount like 750cc in the first 12 hours. It is in these patients that maintaining chest tube drainage is imperative.
Are there certain times when this is more likely to happen?
- Experience suggests this is most common in the first 24 hours post op when the secretions and bloody discharge is thicker.
How often does chest tube clogging impact outcomes?
- If the chest tubes don’t adequately drain, especially when there is bleeding, fluid can accumulate around the heart and in the pleural space. This can lead to the need for a take back for wash out, replacement of the chest tubes, thoracentesis or pericardiocentesis. Estimates suggest these “failure to drain” events occurs in as many as 16% of all patients after heart surgery, and this leads to an increase in length of stay, mortality and hospital costs.
Can the PleuraFlow® be used with any chest tube?
- The PleuraFlow® Active Tube Clearance® System comes with a specially sized 32Fr or 20 Fr silicone chest tube. This makes sure the guide wire with the loop is sized properly to fit a chest tube. Thus the system cannot be used with other brands of chest tubes.
Can the PleuraFlow® be used with any chest drainage system?
- Yes. The PleuraFlow® Active Tube Clearance® System can be used with any drainage canisters by simply connecting the PleuraFlow® to the drainage tubing to the canister.
Does the PleuraFlow® improve drainage over conventional chest tube clogging?
- Laboratory studies comparing the PleuraFlow® Active Tube Clearance® System vs. conventional chest tubes suggest that the PleuraFlow® has far superior drainage characteristics. Please let us know and we can send you the publications where this data is presented.