UNDERWATER SEAL CHEST DRAINS - THE PATIENTS EXPERIENCE

Chest drains are routinely inserted during thoracic surgery and to con servatively manage spontaneous pneumothorax. An extensive search of th e literature revealed only a small number of highly prescriptive artic les to advise the nurse on the specific care needs of this patient gro up. An exploratory study undertaken with 18 patients drew attention to the persistent discomfort and pain experienced by patients throughout the entire time that the chest drain remained an situ. Most of the pa tients also experienced short-lasting but intense pain when the chest drain was removed. Patients appeared ill-prepared for their experience s despite opportunities to obtain verbal and written information from staff.