The right time for chest tube removal in the patient with cardiac
surgery: a systematic review
Abstract
BACKGROUND: chest tube insertion is recommended after cardiac surgery,
and chest tube inserted annually for a large number of these patients.
In addition to its benefits, the chest tube may have risks that are
mismanaged. One of these risks is the possibility of pleural effusion,
which involves relatively high rates. Therefore, we conducted a
systematic review to properly manage the chest tube and reduce its
complications. METHODS: This systematic review of cohort study asked the
question: Is there enough evidence to determine the right time to remove
the chest tube? We search ISI Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus and Embase
through 1 January 2015 to 30 September 2019 to identify retrospective or
prospective cohort studies. RESULTS: Three studies of the studies
reviewed recommended early chest tube removal and two studies
recommending delaying. Of course, early and late in the studies had
different meanings and time frames that were examined. CONCLUSIONS: More
and more evidence and studies are needed to determine the right timing
and management of the chest tube removal but our systematic review is
based on the available evidence revealed that if the chest tube removal
occurs about 24 hours postoperatively, and with less than 100 ml
drainage within the last 8 hours, it reduced the risk of pleural
effusion and improve many other outcomes.