Evaluation of post-operative air leak
pneumothorax
PNEUMOTHORAX, COMPLICATIONS
Twenty-four hours after the surgery, air leak through the chest tube was assessed by two observers when the patient was in the cardiothoracic surgery ward and after performing chest physiotherapy. The patient performed deep forced expirations while timed during 1 min. In every expiration, we recorded the air flow observed in the chest drain’s graded water seal. This manoeuvre and evaluation of air leak was repeated every post-operative day until chest tube removal.In addition to air flow quantification, the occurrence of cardiorespiratory complications and the presence of pneumothorax in chest X-ray were recorded on every post-operative day.