The patient has a chest tube for a pneumothorax. Assessment revealed no continuous bubbling in the water-seal chamber. The nurse finds no loose connections. After the chest tube near the patient is clamped, the bubbling stops
The nurse's first action should be to: a. apply pressure to the dressing around the chest tube insertion site.
b. move the clamp farther down the tube and note whether bubbling resumes.
c. replace the entire collection tubing and system.
d. increase suction control until bubbling does not resume when the clamp is removed.
A
If bubbling stops when the chest tube is clamped between the collecting system and the body, the leak is at the insertion site or inside the patient. Applying pressure to the dressing will determine which of the sites is leaking. If bubbling continues after the chest tube is clamped, the leak is below the clamp, and the next step would be to move the clamp farther away from the patient and reassess. Only if the bubbling never stops after the clamp is moved all the way down the tubing should the collection system be replaced. Turning the suction device higher will increase bubbling in the suction chamber and will not affect bubbling in the water-seal chamber.
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