Active clearance vs conventional management of chest tubes after cardiac surgery: a randomized controlled study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Chest tubes are routinely used after cardiac surgery to evacuate shed mediastinal blood. Incomplete chest drainage due to chest tube clogging can lead to retained blood after cardiac surgery. This can include cardiac tamponade, hemothorax, bloody effusions and postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF). Prior published non randomized studies have demonstrated that active tube clearance (ATC) of chest tubes can reduce retained blood complications prompting the ERAS Cardiac Society guidelines to recommend this modality.

Objective

A randomized prospective trial to evaluate whether an ATC protocol aimed at improving chest tube patency without breaking the sterile field could efficiently reduce complications related to retained blood after cardiac surgery.

Methods

SUBMITTER: St-Onge S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7986555 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature