The nurse is caring for a patient with a chest tube and a three-chamber disposable drainage system. The physician orders an AP chest x-ray to be done in the x-ray department. How would the nurse transport the patient?
1. Clamp the chest tube after full exhalation and call the department so they can be ready when you arrive.
2. Clamp the chest tube after full inspiration and call the department so they can be ready when you arrive.
3. Disconnect the drainage system from the wall suction and transport.
4. Do a portable film in the patient's room.
3
Rationale: The nurse would disconnect the drainage system from wall suction and transport with the drainage system in an upright position, placed below the level of the heart. The suction chamber does not require attachment to an external suction source, although it does make the system more effective. As long as the water seal chamber is intact, air is not permitted to reenter the chest cavity. Clamping a chest tube for any length of time will obstruct the exit of air, causing pressure to build up in the pleural space, resulting in a tension pneumothorax. Changing of a physician's order is not within the realm of nursing.
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