Establishing Safe Drainage Limits for Pleural Chest Tube Removal.

Defining the Threshold for Safe Chest Tube Removal.

The purpose of the study is to evaluate a safe threshold for when to remove chest tubes in patients based on the amount of drainage present.

Measurement of pleural fluid drainage in chest tubes of trauma patients.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Presence of at least one chest tube
• No air leak present
• Fluid is not infected
• Pleural drainage of fluid was an indication for placement of the chest tube
• Patient is post-thoracic surgery
• Patient is post-thoracic trauma
• Informed consent obtained

Exclusion Criteria:

• Presence of air leak
• Infected pleural fluid
• Active intra-thoracic bleeding
• Thoracic empyema
• Non-removal of chest tube (i.e.: expired)
• Pregnancy
• Less than 18 years of age
• Unable to obtain informed consent