Tuberculous empyema (TE) is an uncommon form of pleural tuberculous (TB). Although the incidence of TE has significantly decreased, it still threatens public health. Patients with TE experience a protracted illness and significant morbidity and mortality risk. Male sex is a significant risk factor for TE. Herein, we report an adult case of TE admitted to a tertiary care hospital of Iran with cl...

PURPOSE Prolonged air or fluid chest tube drainage may delay chest tube removal in thoracic surgery patients otherwise ready for discharge. We reviewed 20 months of experience at our institution with postoperative, outpatient chest tube management using a new portable chest tube device. DESCRIPTION From May 2003 to December 2004, 457 major thoracic procedures were performed at our institution...

A 25-year-old man was admitted in hospital due to right side hemopneumothorax secondary to car accident. A chest tube was inserted. During the hospitalization days, chest CT scan revealed a 3cmx3 cm oval-shaped density located in the right upper lobe. Since he was in a good general condition, he was discharged from hospital after removal of chest tube and a follow-up chest CT-scan was recommend...

BACKGROUND Prolonged chest tube duration is less well studied in patients who are supported by mechanical ventilation and have acquired pneumothorax. We investigated the impact of prolonged chest tube duration on patient outcomes and the risk factors associated with prolonged chest tube duration. METHODS This retrospective observational study included 106 ventilated subjects who had been trea...

BACKGROUND The objective of this randomised trial was to assess the effectiveness of a new fast-track chest tube removal protocol taking advantage of digital monitoring of air leak compared to a traditional protocol using visual and subjective assessment of air leak (bubbles). METHODS One hundred and sixty-six patients submitted to pulmonary lobectomy for lung cancer were randomised in two gr...

A 61-year-old alcoholic man presented to the emergency department because of vomiting and dyspnea after discharged from hospital due to appendectomy two days ago. He smoked heavily and his past medical history revealed gastritis. On the examination, he was hypotension (50/00 mmHg) and lethargy. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation was initiated aggressively. His chest x-ray showed right-sided tension ...

A 62-year-old woman developed shock immediately after the insertion of a right-sided chest tube. A chest roentgenogram showed the chest tube to be overlying the heart and possibly compressing the right ventricle. An animal model was developed to replicate this clinical situation. Using a domestic goat model pulmonary artery, peripheral arterial catheters were inserted along with a right sided c...

OBJECTIVES Chest drainage following cardiac surgery is used to avoid complications related to the accumulation of blood and serous fluid in the chest. We aimed to determine the incidence of chest tube clogging and the role of bedside assessment in identifying the potential for failure to drain. METHODS Data from 150 patients undergoing cardiac surgery using cardiopulmonary bypass from March t...

OBJECTIVE We sought to determine the current practice habits among clinicians treating spontaneous pneumothorax and bronchopleural fistula. METHODS Practice habits were determined by a randomized postal survey of 3,000 American College of Chest Physicians members. Group comparisons are performed by chi2 analysis with p<0.05 being significant. RESULTS Four hundred nine respondents (13.6%) in...