Chest Tubes

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Hey there! I am a RN fresh out of Nursing School and have been working in the ICU setting for over 2 months now and I have a general question about CT's and UWSD. I am familiar with the UWSD and the proper usage of them as well, but I have a question. Whenever the fluid from the CT begins to "back up" into the tubing, I have a hard time in draining the fluid into the Glass Bottle. The only way that I am able to drain the fluid coming from the CT is to unscrew the top and lift up on the tubing enough to where the fluid begins to drain into the bottle, but not to the point where all of the fluid drains out and allow air to reach inside the CT. Is this an unorthodox practice? If so, what are some other ways that I can drain the fluid out of the CT so that it doesn't back up?

Hi,

Can anyone tell me how they change chet tube dressings?

Do you have an occlusive dressing by using 3-4" tape over a 4 x 4 that is over a 4 x 4 drain sponge that is over vaseline gauze?

I haven't been able to get a straight anser and have done some researching.

Does anyone use vaseline gauze, then drain sponge 4 x 4 then a 4 x 4 (unsplit) and then tape the cornmers only/

Any help is appreciated.

Happy Nurses Week !!!:nuke:

Specializes in cardiac/critical care/ informatics.

vaseline guaze-split 4x4- 4x4s-and sometimes an abd. secured with 3

-4 inch tape all occulsive.

JMGRN65

Thanks for your answer.

Just one clarification - the 3 or 4 inch tape goes over the gauze dressing to make it occlusive, right?

This is how I have always understood it, but I see chest tube dressings with 4 x 4's only and paper tape around the edges>

Thanks for your help.

Clayah

+ Add a Comment