Anaesthesia | General ICU Care | Surgical chest drain

Surgical chest drain
Session Overview
Description
This session will provide the background, indications and technique of Emergency Pleural Drainage. At the end of the session the trainee should feel confident they have all of the background information to perform this potentially life saving procedure.

Learning Objectives
By the end of this session you will be able to:

• Recognize the indications for emergency pleural drainage
• Apply the knowledge required to perform the procedure

A pneumothorax is the collection of air in the pleural space, while a haemothorax is a collection of blood in the pleural space.

Large pneumothoraces and haemothoraces can impair ventilation and require urgent drainage.

Tension pneumothorax can rapidly cause cardiovascular collapse and cardiac arrest.

Drainage can be carried out using a:

• Needle
• Cannula
• Chest tube

Chest tubes can be inserted with a traditional surgical technique or with a Seldinger dilatational technique (Fig 1).

Pleural drainage can be urgent or carried out as a semi-elective procedure. The procedure carries a significant complication rate and should only be carried out when necessary.