How do you drain a pleural catheter?

Clean your PleurX valve and connect the drainage line

1. Pick up the end of your catheter and hold it away from your body.
2. Twist off the valve cap and throw it away (see Figure 6).
3. Use an alcohol wipe to clean the valve well for 15 seconds.
4. Push the access tip of the drainage line into the clean catheter valve.

What is a tunnelled pleural catheter?

Indwelling tunneled pleural catheters (IPC) are soft silicone tubes that allow people to better manage the shortness of breath from recurrent malignant pleural effusions safely at home.

How is pleural fluid drained?

Thoracentesis is a procedure to remove fluid or air from around the lungs. A needle is put through the chest wall into the pleural space. The pleural space is the thin gap between the pleura of the lung and of the inner chest wall. The pleura is a double layer of membranes that surrounds the lungs.

What color should PleurX drainage be?

What is the normal color of the fluid? The fluid from your drain may be yellow, green, or look like blood. The fluid may have blood in it at any time. It is normal to see blood clots or tissue when you drain the catheter.

What is a tunnelled drain?

This is a drainage tube which is inserted once and remains inserted, with the end of the drain outside of the body, hidden under a bandage when not in use. When the fluid re-accumulates, a special drainage bottle is temporarily attached to withdraw the fluid.

How much pleural fluid is drained?

Pleural fluid drainage should to be started immediately and up to 1500 mL of fluid can be removed. After removing the pleural fluid, a chest radiograph or postprocedural CT scan should be obtained to confirm the appropriate position of the pigtail catheter and evaluate possible complications including pneumothorax.

What does dark pleural fluid mean?

Presence of black pleural fluids may indicate massive bleeding and prolonged period of blood accumulation due to metastatic carcinoma and melanoma [1]. Also, it is important to differentiate between transudative and exudative pleural effusion to determine its cause.

How long can you live with pleural catheter?

The prognosis is unfavorable, with life expectancy of three to 12 months. In general, management focuses on relieving symptoms rather than on cure.

How do you remove a tunneled pleural catheter?

Firm traction is applied on the catheter and the cuff is freed by blunt dissection using the kilner needle holder (Instrapac Standard Suture Pack) inserted into the tunnel via the catheter entry site. The catheter is then with withdrawn with gentle traction and the wound is closed with a single suture.

How painful is a PleuRx drain?

Draining a PleuRx catheter can cause pain from the re-expansion of the lung after it has been compressed. However, it’s also possible that a nerve could be irritated by the catheter. It’s very reasonable to check in with her doctor to check whether any further evaluation would be indicated.