The inserted chest tube for a hemothorax needs to be connected to a ______ to collect ______ but prevent ______ from entering.

Understand the Problem

The question is about the correct setup for a chest tube inserted for a hemothorax. It requires understanding the purpose of the chest tube in this scenario, specifically what it needs to collect and what it needs to prevent from entering the chest cavity. A hemothorax is a collection of blood in the space between the lung and the chest wall, which needs to be drained, while preventing air from entering the pleural space. We need to identify the appropriate collection system and the substance (air or fluid) that needs to be prevented from entering.

More Information

A hemothorax is a collection of blood in the pleural space, which is the space between the lung and the chest wall. A chest tube is inserted to drain the blood and allow the lung to re-expand. The chest tube is connected to a sealed drainage system to collect the blood and prevent air from entering the pleural space, which could cause a pneumothorax (collapsed lung).

Tips

A common mistake is to think that the chest tube is connected to a suction outlet to help drain the blood. However, suction is not always necessary and can actually be harmful if it is too strong. The sealed drainage system allows for passive drainage of the blood, which is usually sufficient.

Sources

• 10.6 Chest Tube Drainage Systems - BC Open Textbooks - opentextbc.ca