Safe insertion, maintenance and removal of chest tube: what every health-care professional must know

Chest tube insertion is a vital, often life-saving procedure which may be required for any patient. Although chest tube insertion is performed by doctors, having comprehensive knowledge about safe insertion, maintenance and removal of the chest tube are vital for every nurse. Therefore, this article aims at describing various components of essentials regarding chest tube management such as types of chest tubes, various types of drainage systems, how to perform safe chest drain insertion, connecting to the drainage system, fixation of chest tube, precautions during initial drainage, monitoring of patient, daily measurement and emptying of bottle, pain relief, chest physiotherapy, patient transport, method of collecting pleural fluid sample and steps of safe removal.