I have a question about chest tubes...

With the Pleur-Evac system, how should the Air Leak Meter look when the system is functioning properly? I keep reading that if there is bubbling from 0-7 there is an air leak Please define bubbling? Does this mean if the 0-7 columns fill with the water or does this mean you actually see the fluid bubbling? Should there be water in the 0-7 columns normally? I am just confused....

In the pleurevac system, the air leak chamber will be filled with water (dyed blue). Bubbling is noted if there is an airleak in the system. It is literal bubbling-- the numbers 0-7 indicate how severe the air leak is. Air leaks can be intermittent or constant (exactly as it sounds). With the chest tube to suction, ask the patient to deep breathe and cough, and observe the water seal chamber for any bubbles. A lot of the time you can hear it, too. If you observe an air leak that was not there previously, check all the tubing connections to make sure they are tight. Remember that tidaling of fluid in the water seal chamber (fluid level moving up and down in correlation with the respiratory cycle) is normal, and does not indicate an air leak.

Hope this helps!

Sarah