Curved chest tube for drainage of malignant pleural effusion

• Published in: Respiratory medicine Vol. 92; no. 4; pp. 633 - 637
• Main Authors: Ishikawa, H., Satoh, H., Yamashita, Y.T., Kamma, H., Naito, T., Ohtsuka, M., Hasegawa, S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01.04.1998; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Biological and medical sciences; Chest Tubes; Diseases of the respiratory system; Drainage - instrumentation; Evaluation Studies as Topic; Female; Humans; Lung Neoplasms - complications; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Pleural Effusion, Malignant - therapy; Radiotherapy. Instrumental treatment. Physiotherapy. Reeducation. Rehabilitation, orthophony, crenotherapy. Diet therapy and various other treatments (general aspects); Human; Lung disease; Respiratory disease; Treatment efficiency; Instrumentation therapy; Bended pipe; Malignant tumor; Bronchopulmonary; Drainage; Treatment; Equipment; Pleurisy; Bronchus disease; Pleural disease; Complication; Technique
• ISSN: 0954-6111; 1532-3064
• DOI: 10.1016/S0954-6111(98)90509-1

Thoracentesis with a chest tube insertion and drainage of large pleural effusion is widely performed in patients with malignant lung diseases. One potential problem with a conventional chest tube placement is occasional incomplete evacuation of effusion owing to inappropriate position of the tip where the drainage holes opened. We have developed a curved chest tube and evaluated the position of tip placement just after the placement and before removal on plain chest X-ray in 20 patients with massive pleural effusions due to lung cancer. In 15 of the 20 patients, the tip of the tube was successfully positioned at the paravertebral gutter in posterobasal with higher drainage efficacy compared with other patients whose tube tips happened to be positioned at other sites. There were no significant complications. This study suggested that the curved chest tube would be safe and useful in completing drainage of pleural effusion.