Comparison of Chest Tube Insertion Function in Mid Line and Anterior Axillary Positions after Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery in the Prevention of Pleural Effusion

Pleural effusion is one of the complications after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) which the use of chest tube has been proposed to prevent it. In this study, we compared the performance of Chest tube insertion in the midline and anterior axillary after CABG surgery to prevent the occurrence of pleural effusion.

This retrospective study was conducted on 99 patients who underwent CABG in 2015-2016, and after the operation, a chest tube was inserted in one of the two methods of placement in the chest midline or in the anterior axillary line. Age, gender, pump duration, surgery duration, number of grafts, occurrence of pleural effusion and amount of drained blood were recorded from the files of these patients and compared between the two methods.

There was no significant difference between the two groups regarding the volume of drainage from the chest tube and the duration of surgery. The frequency of pleural effusion in the Midline group was 14% and in the anterior axillary group was 14.3%, which did not significant different between the two groups based on the frequency of pleural effusion.

Both methods of insertion of chest tube in midline and anterior axillary are two effective methods for preventing pleural effusion after CABG surgery.