Chest Tubes and

Thoracentesis
Core Course
July 2012

Chest Tubes
Indications

Pneumothorax

Tension
Spontaneous
Iatrogenic
consider while on mechanical ventilation

Hemothorax
Empyema
Chylothorax
Pleurodesis
Bronchopleural fistulas

Pneumothorax

Technique
Things to consider before starting!

Type of tube

Size of the tube

(what disease are you treating?)

Insertion site

(Straight or angled)

Lateral or anterior

Insertion technique to be employed

(standard or Seldinger)

Specific Considerations
How to choose a chest tube size?

Pneumothorax A 16 to 24 Fr chest tube.

Traumatic pneumothorax 28 to 40 Fr chest tube

Malignant effusion A 20 to 24 Fr chest tube

Empyema 28 to 36 Fr chest tube

drainage of blood in addition to air may be necessary.

May need more than one tube for loculated areas

Hemothorax 32 to 40 Fr chest

Larger caliber helps prevent occlusion

Insertion site

Fourth or fifth intercostal space in the anterior

axillary or mid-axillary line.
Second intercostal space in the mid-clavicular line

alternate site

dissection through the pectoralis muscle

leaves a visible scar
loculated anterior pneumothorax with the use of a small bore
catheter (10 to 14 Fr) rather than a standard chest tube.

Insertion techniques:
Standard vs.Seldinger

Standard technique The following steps are the most common method employed to
place a chest tube:

Consider conscious sedation with morphine and a benzodiazepine if hemodynamically stable

The patient is placed supine
Arm of the involved side placed behind the head
Prep area with chlorhexidine
Drape with sterile towels
Anesthetize skin with 1% Lidocaineanesthetize the entire area, including the tract and rib
A 2 cm skin incision is made parallel to the intercostal space
Kelly clamp is used for blunt dissection to enter puncture the parietal pleura and enter the chest
above the rib in order to reduce the risk of neurovascular injury

The Kelly clamp is then opened to spread the parietal pleura and intercostal muscles.
A finger is inserted through the tract into the pleural space to confirm proper position and lack of
adhesions between the lung and the pleural surface.

May need to use additional lidocaine to anesthetize the periosteum

Only easily disrupted adhesions should by lysed with the operator's finger, as significant bleeding can occur
if more organized adhesions are disrupted.

The chest tube is clamped at the proximal end with the Kelly clamp.
With the aid of the clamp, the chest tube is inserted through the tract into the pleural space
Directed either apically for a pneumothorax or inferiorly and posteriorly for a pleural effusion.

Insertion techniques (cont)

The location of the chest tube is confirmed by:

The skin incision is closed with one or more sutures, and one of the sutures is tied
to the chest tube to anchor it.
The site is covered with sterile gauze and surgical tape.
Some clinicians prefer to cover the site with petroleum-gauze.
The chest tube is connected to the pleural drainage system.

visualization of condensation within the tube with respiration

drained pleural fluid seen within the tube
tube should be inserted with the proximal hole at least 2 cm beyond the rib margin
Position of the chest tube with all drainage holes in the pleural space should be
assessed by palpation.

Connections between the chest tube and pleural drainage system should be tight and
taped securely.

Chest radiograph should be obtained to confirm tube position and assess lung
expansion.

The gap in the radiopaque marker in the chest tube, marking the most proximal
drainage hole, must be within the pleural space.

Seldinger technique
An alternative approach to chest tube placement

Chest radiograph should be carefully inspected for adequate separation of the lung and parietal pleura
due to pleural air or fluid.
The patient is placed supine with the arm of the involved side placed behind the head.
The area of insertion is prepped with chlorhexidine and draped with sterile towels.
Using one percent lidocaine, a 2 to 3 cm area of skin and subcutaneous tissue is anesthetized along the
intercostal space that will be penetrated.
Thoracentesis at the intended insertion site is performed with aspiration of air or fluid confirming an
appropriate site for chest tube insertion.
A 2 cm skin incision is made parallel to the intercostal space, and should be performed immediately
above the rib in order to reduce the risk of neurovascular injury should the incision extend more deeply
than intended.
An introducer needle is inserted into the pleural space with aspiration of air or fluid.
A guidewire is placed through the introducer needle into the pleural space.

The guidewire may be directed apically for a pneumothorax or inferiorly for a fluid collection.

Graduated size dilators are serially passed over the guidewire to dilate a tract for the chest tube.
The chest tube itself with its dilator is passed into the pleural space.
The guidewire and dilator are removed, leaving the chest tube in place.
The chest tube is sutured into place and dressed with sterile gauze.

Seldinger Technique (cont)

Disadvantages:

Adhesions between the lung and pleural surface

cannot be assessed by palpation during tube
insertion.
If the introducer needle and guidewire are
inserted at a point of pleural adhesion, the chest
tube may be inadvertently placed into the lung
parenchyma.

CHEST TUBE REMOVAL

Remove when:

Original indication for placement is no longer present

Tube becomes nonfunctional.
The following criteria should be met prior to removing the chest tube:
The lung should be fully expanded
Daily fluid output should be less than 100 to 200 mL/day
An air leak should not exist, either during suction or coughing

Once these criteria are met, the chest tube can be placed on water seal.
CXR on water seal after 6 hours
Some will clamp the chest tube for four to six hours, then confirm the
absence of pneumothorax prior to removing the chest tube.
Mechanical ventilation does not prevent removal of CT if no air leak is
present.
Following inspiration, the patient performs a Valsalva maneuver and the
tube is removed with simultaneous covering of the insertion site with the
gauze dressing

COMPLICATIONS

Are rare, 1-3%

Chest tube malposition Chest tube malposition is the most common complication of tube thoracostomy
Lung parenchyma perforation
Empyema
Subcutaneous tube placement
Perforation of the ventricle or atrium, and abdominal organs (spleen, liver, stomach, colon)
Other complications include

cardiogenic shock from chest tube compression of the right ventricle,

mediastinal perforation with contralateral hemothorax and pneumothorax
bleeding from intercostal artery injury
infection at the chest tube site

Reexpansion pulmonary edema

Potentially life-threatening complication of tube thoracostomy

It usually occurs unilaterally after rapid reexpansion of a collapsed lung in patients with a pneumothorax
Can also follow evacuation of large volumes of pleural fluid (>1.0 to 1.5 liters) or after removal of an obstructing tumor.
The incidence of edema appears to be related to the rapidity of lung reexpansion.
Patients typically present soon after the inciting event, although presentation can be delayed for up to 24 hours in some
cases.
A mortality rate as high as 20 percent has been described.
Treatment is supportive, mainly consisting of supplemental oxygen and, if necessary, mechanical ventilation. The disease
is usually self-limited.
Prevention drain only 1-1.5 liters of fluid at a time; if need to take more, wait 2-4 hours between drainages

Thoracentesis
INTRODUCTION

Diagnostic thoracentesis

Bedside procedure
Percutaneous introduction of needle into chest
cavity to remove pleural
Laboratory assessment of pleural fluid can
provide valuable diagnostic and prognostic
information

Interpretation of pleural fluid studies can be reviewed on

UpToDate.

INDICATIONS for
Diagnostic
thoracentesis
Establish the cause of a pleural effusion.

When an effusion is suspected on physical examination

Thoracentesis is not generally required in patients:

Confirm by radiographic
Small amount of pleural fluid
And a secure clinical diagnosis (eg, with viral pleurisy)

Thoracentesis should be considered in patients with suspected CHF in the

following circumstances:

A unilateral effusion is present, particularly if it is left-sided

Bilateral effusions are present, but are of disparate sizes
There is evidence of pleurisy
The patient is febrile
The cardiac silhouette appears normal on chest radiograph
The alveolar-arterial oxygen gradient is widened out of proportion to the
clinical setting

CONTRAINDICATIONS
There are no absolute contraindications to diagnostic thoracentesis

Relative contraindications to the procedure:

Anticoagulation or a bleeding diathesis

PT or PTT greater than twice normal
Platelet count less than 25,000/mm3
Serum creatinine concentration greater than 6 mg/dL
Active skin infection at the point of needle insertion
A very small volume of pleural fluid

<1 cm distance from the pleural fluid line to the chest wall on a decubitus radiograph

risk of thoracentesis generally outweighs the usefulness of pleural fluid analysis

Mechanical ventilation

does not increase the risk for developing a pneumothorax compared with nonventilated
patients.
however, mechanically ventilated patients are at increased risk of developing tension
physiology or persistent air leak (bronchopleural fistula) if a pneumothorax does occur.

TECHNIQUE
Diagnostic Thoracentesis

How to select the site of needle insertion:

Ultrasound guidance should be employed

Chest radiograph should be available in the procedure room for review,

Physical examination should guide selection of the puncture site.
The operator should adhere strictly to sterile technique.
1% lidocaine should be used to anesthetize the skin
The needle should be inserted 1 to 2 interspaces below the level where the percussion note becomes dull
and fremitus is absent.
When the effusion is free-flowing, a site midway between the spine and the posterior axillary line should
be selected, as the ribs are easily palpated in this location.
The needle should be passed over the superior aspect of the rib to decrease the risk of injury to the
neurovascular bundle which traverses.
A "dry" thoracentesis may result from:

Small volume or loculated

Seat patient same during ultraound and procedure

An absence of pleural fluid

incorrect needle placement
Use of an inappropriately short needle

Routine performance of a chest radiograph after thoracentesis is not indicated.

1 percent of 488 asymptomatic patients who underwent thoracentesis had a pneumothorax

Those with post-procedural SOB or chest pain should get a CXR

COMPLICATIONS

Pain at the puncture site

Bleeding

Pneumothorax (12-30%)
Empyema
Soft tissue infection
Spleen or liver puncture

Hematoma
Hemothorax
Hemoperitoneum

Make sure sitting upright

Vasovagal events
Seeding the needle tract with tumor
Retained intrapleural catheter fragments have been reported.

The End

Any Questions?