Safe insertion, maintenance and removal of chest tube: what every health-care professional must know

Chest tube insertion is a vital, often life-saving procedure which may be required for any patient. A comprehensive knowledge about safe insertion, maintenance and removal of the chest tube is vital for every health-care professional. This article describes essential components of chest tube management such as type of chest tubes, drainage systems, how to perform safe insertion, connecting to the drainage system, fixation of chest tube, precautions during initial drainage, monitoring of patient, daily measurement and emptying of bottle, pain relief, chest physiotherapy, patient transport, method of collecting pleural fluid sample and steps of safe removal.