Journal of pediatric health care : official publication of National Association of Pediatric Nurse Associates & Practitioners
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J Pediatr Health Care · May 2013
The routine use of chest radiographs after chest tube removal in children who have had cardiac surgery.
It is routine to obtain a chest radiograph (CXR) after removal of a chest tube (CT) to assess for pneumothorax. Retrospective studies have shown that clinical signs were present in most children with pneumothorax and were an indication for a CXR. ⋯ The low rate of pneumothoraces in this study may be been related to how the CT was placed in surgery, the type of CT used, or the method of removal. In this study the risk of developing a pneumothorax requiring CT reinsertion after CT removal was at most 5% and therefore low enough to consider obtaining a CXR for symptomatic children only.