Management of Chest Drains: A National Survey on Surgeons-in-training Experience and Practice

• Published in: Nigerian journal of surgery 2015-07, Vol.21 (2), p.91-95
• Main Authors: Kesieme, Emeka B, Olusoji, Olugbenga, Inuwa, Ismail Mohammed, Ngene, Chukwuma Innocent, Aigbe, Eghosa
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Care and treatment; Chest drains; experience; Original; Practice; Public opinion; Surgeons; surgical residents; Surveys; Thoracic diseases; Training
• ISSN: 1117-6806; 2278-7100
• DOI: 10.4103/1117-6806.162569

Chest tube insertion is a simple and sometimes life-saving procedure performed mainly by surgical residents. However with inadequate knowledge and poor expertise, complications may be life threatening. We aimed to determine the level of experience and expertise of resident surgeons in performing tube thoracostomy. Four tertiary institutions were selected by simple random sampling. A structured questionnaire was administered to 90 residents after obtaining consent. The majority of respondents were between 31 and 35 years. About 10% of respondents have not observed or performed tube thoracostomy while 77.8% of respondents performed tube thoracostomy for the first time during residency training. The mean score was 6.2 ± 2.2 and 59.3% of respondents exhibited good experience and practice. Rotation through cardiothoracic surgery had an effect on the score (P = 0.034). About 80.2% always obtained consent while 50.6% always used the blunt technique of insertion. About 61.7% of respondents routinely inserted a chest drain in the Triangle of safety. Only 27.2% of respondents utilized different sizes of chest tubes for different pathologies. Most respondents removed chest drains when the output is