Oasis™ Dry
Suction Drains FAQ
The following questions
may be often asked about the Oasis drains,
and the answers are provided here for your
convenience. If you have further questions,
please contact
our 24-hour technical support.
- How
do I confirm the patient has a pneumothorax?
- If
the chest drainage system has been
knocked over, can I use it and what
should I do?
- How
do I lower the water seal column?
- Is
it normal for the patient pressure
float ball to fluctuate up and down
(otherwise known as ‘tidaling’)
near the bottom of the water seal
column?
- How
do I sample patient drainage or add
anti-coagulant without a front grommet?
- If
the regulator of the Oasis is set
at -20cmH2O (preset level), how do
I know my patient is experiencing
-20cmH2O?
- How
do I set up the Oasis drain for “balanced
drainage” for pneumonectomy
patients?
- Is
the Oasis drain MRI compatible?
- Does
the Oasis drain contain any latex?
- How
do I dispose of the system?
1.
How do I confirm the patient has a pneumothorax?
If there are no air bubbles observed going from right to left in the
water seal, there is no patient air leak. If bubbling is present (constant
or intermittent) in the water seal air leak monitor, this will confirm
an air leak is present. In order to confirm that your patient’s
chest catheter(s) are patent, temporarily turn suction off and check
for oscillation of the patient pressure float ball in the water seal
column coinciding with patient respiration.
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2.
If the chest drainage system has been
knocked over, can I use it and what should
I do?
After a chest drainage system has been knocked over, set it upright and
immediately check the fluid levels of the water seal for proper volume.
If the fluid levels need to be altered, Atrium provides convenient access
for fluid adjustment by providing a self-sealing diaphragm (located on
the rear of the drain) that can be accessed with a 20 gauge or smaller
needle and syringe. If the water seal has an inadequate fluid level,
simply replace the lost volume. If a significant amount of fluid has
entered the water seal, it may be advisable to change the system for
a new one.
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3.
How do I lower the water seal column?
Changes in your patient’s intrathoracic pressure will be reflected
by the height of the water in the water seal column. These changes are
usually due to mechanical means such as milking and stripping patient
drainage tubes, or simply by deep inspiration by your patient after all
air leaks have subsided. If desired, the height of the water column and
patient pressure can be reduced by temporarily depressing the filtered
manual vent, located on top of the drain, until the float valve releases
and the water column lowers to the desired level. Do not lower water
seal column when suction is not operating or when patient is on gravity
drainage.
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4.
Is it normal for the patient pressure
float ball to fluctuate up and down (otherwise
known as ‘tidaling’) near
the bottom of the water seal column?
Yes. Once your patient’s air leak is resolved, you will generally
observe moderate tidaling in the water seal column. Increases in intrathoracic
pressure will cause the water level to rise (the ball rises) during patient
inspiration and will lower or decrease (the ball drops) during patient
expiration. This diagnostic tool will help to confirm patency of your
patient’s catheter(s).
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5.
How do I sample patient drainage or add
anti-coagulant without a front grommet?
Most users rarely utilized the grommet on the previous version because
the patient sample would not be fresh. Also, most prefer to inject anti-coagulant
into the filter to aid in clot reduction. Oasis models include a needleless
access port on the patient tube connector for sampling patient drainage
or adding anticoagulant to the collection chamber if required (ATS models).
Alcohol-swab the luer port prior to syringe attachment (no needle). Alternately,
samples can be taken directly from or added through the patient tube
by inserting
a 20 gauge or smaller needle with syringe in accordance with approved
hospital guidelines.
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6.
If the regulator of the Oasis is set
at -20cmH2O (preset level), how do I
know my patient is experiencing -20cmH2O?
With the dry suction regulator there is a small amount of variance in
suction at any given suction level. That variance is +/- 2cmH2O. That
means if the regulator is set at -20cmH2O then the patient could be experiencing
anywhere from -18cmH2O to -22cmH2O. That is a small amount of variance
and not clinically dangerous for the patient. Atrium’s dry suction
regulator are pre-assembled and tested before being added to each drain.
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7.
How do I set up the Oasis drain for “balanced
drainage” for pneumonectomy patients?
With balanced pneumonectomy drainage no suction is connected and the
suction control stopcock should remain open. Also the suction control
chamber does not need to be filled. The water seal is filled to the 1cm
level, instead of the normal 2cm. The depth of the water in the water
seal determines the maximum amount of positive pressure in the chest.
With a 1cm water seal, the maximum amount of positive pressure is +1cmH2O.
With a 1cm water seal, pleural negativity can not exceed approximately
-17cmH2O. If patient intrathoracic pressure begins to increase to approximately
-17cmH2O, air at a lesser negative pressure will pass through the water
seal and enter the pleural space. This will reduce the negative pressure
in the pleural space.
Set up:
- No suction is connected
- The water seal is
filled to just below the 1cm level, as
opposed to the usual 2cm level, since
the depth of the water in the water seal
determines the maximum amount of positive
pressure in the chest. With approximately
1cm water seal, pleural negativity cannot
exceed approximately -17cmH2O, air at
a lesser negative pressure will pass
through the water seal.
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8.
Is the Oasis drain MRI compatible?
The metal contained within the drain (small spring for manual vent) is
stainless steel which is non-magnetic. The metallic material used in
Atrium Medical Corporation’s chest drainage units will have no
effect on the MRI equipment. This will allow for the product to remain
attached to the patient while the MRI is being performed. Return
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9.
Does the Oasis drain contain any latex?
The Oasis series chest drains do not contain natural rubber latex (NRL)
or dry natural rubber (DNR) and bear labeling with the ‘LF’ symbol
and the statement “Latex Free”. Return to
Top
10. How do
I dispose of the system?
Disposal of system and contents must be in accordance with approved hospital
infection control standards. To minimize the possibility of fluid leaking
from the drain, it is suggested that the patient line occluded using
the blue slide clamp provided with each drain.
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