Digital drains reduce complications and promote early chest tube removal

The study "Reduction of drainage-associated complications in cardiac surgery with a digital drainage system: a randomised controlled trial", performed by Arnaud Van Linden et al. provides evidence for the safety of digital chest drainage and monitoring systems within cardiac surgery. It even suggests that patients benefit by a reduction of chest-drainage associated complications. The trial was designed to investigate potential differences between an analog wet-seal system and a digital chest drainage and monitoring system in elective cardiac surgery patients in a German hospital.

Good to know:

• Pleural and/or mediastinal chest drains are a standard postoperative practice after cardiothoracic surgery.
• Digital systems are recommended as part of the ERAS (Enhanced Recovery after Surgery) pathway for the perioperative management after lung surgery in order to improve patients’ outcome.¹
• Digital chest drains provide continuous, precisely controlled, uninterrupted drainage from the operating room onwards² and allow fast objective clinical decisions.³
• Digital chest drainage and monitoring systems give patients mobility and independence in the postoperative phase.⁴
• Early mobilisation after cardiac surgery seems to be an element to prevent postoperative complications, enhance functional capacity, and shorten the length of hospital stay.⁵
• Traditionally used analog systems ("wet seal" drainage systems) result in patient’s immobility as well as subjective assessment of air leaks, leading to high interobserver variability in quantifying air leak severity⁶ and deciding when to pull the drain.⁷

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