EN
10
4 ThopEasy
+
graph user guide
ThopEasy
+
software is a unique tool available that allows the clinician to record, interpret and analyze patient treat-
ment.
During chest drainage therapy, Thopaz/Thopaz
+
measures the patient's air leak, the measured pressure and the fluid
(fluid just measured by Thopaz
+)
, then records the 10 minute average of these. The prior 24/72 hours of air leak data
appears on the graph screen of Thopaz’s display, to assist decision making about when to remove chest tubes. The
complete patient history of air leak, and measured intrapleural pressure, is then available to download onto a PC upon
completion of therapy through the ThopEasy
+
software.
The patient data downloaded into ThopEasy
+
can be used for a range of uses including:
Clinical
– Identify types of patient air leaks
Educational
– Challenging clinical practice and review of chest tube management
Safety
– Validates decisions regarding chest tube removal
4.1 Air leak and pressure
Every set of patient data will have individual characteristics and air leaks will vary from patient to patient. However, the
graphs can typically be identified and categorized into the following:
– Zero air leak patients – air leak resolves within a couple of hours after the completion of surgery
– Intermittent air leak patients – air leak intermittently appears and then disappears
– Slowly resolving air leak patients – air leak resolves over a 1 to 4 day period
– Prolonged air leak patients – air leak that last longer than 5 days
The following pages highlight these features to assist with decision making in your thoracic drainage practice.
To Next Page