Journal of cardiac surgery
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Effect of timing of chest tube removal on development of pericardial effusion following cardiac surgery.
There are no standard criteria for the timing of drain removal. The objective of this study was to determine whether the macroscopic appearance of chest tube drainage fluid to serosanguineous may be used as a criteria for drain removal. ⋯ It is safe to remove the chest tubes as soon as the macroscopic appearance of the drainage fluid turns to serosanguineous since this practically indicates cessation of active bleeding.