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Safety During Thoracentesis using the EPD
CategoriesPatient Handling

Patient and Staff Safety Improved During Thoracentesis

by sphmedicaladmin

What Is Thoracentesis?

A doctor who performs thoracentesis uses a syringe or needle-catheter device to remove excess fluid surrounding the lungs. Congestive heart failure and pneumonia are among the conditions that can cause fluid to accumulate in the pleural space, causing pain and shortness of breath. After a sonographer locates the best insertion point for the needle, a doctor drains fluid to relieve pressure between the pleural membranes and the chest wall. Unfortunately, medical professionals can risk injury when they position, turn, or hold the patient steady during the procedure. This puts the staff an patient at risk of injury during the procedure. Healthcare Works and nursing staff are calling for safety improved during Thoracentesis.

During medical procedures that expose the back or spine, it’s not unusual for a patient to sit on a bed, chair, or stool while resting their head and arms on a table. Sometimes the patient will lean forward on pillows that are comfortable but unsteady. Furniture that lacks locking mechanisms can slide or tip over, causing the patient or their handler to collide with equipment, slip, or fall. Nursing staff can suffer back injuries or musculoskeletal disorders from the physical strain of manually handling patients day-to-day.

How the Epidural Positioning Device Benefits Hospital Staff and Patients

Over the past ten years, hospitals have reduced the potential for nursing injury and accidents by introducing evidence-based safe patient handling programs, guidelines, and devices. These measures decrease the number of situations that require staff to lift, push, pull, or perform prolonged static holds on any patient. Many states also require hospitals to follow patient handling laws. Special equipment, like the epidural positioning device (EPD), has been key to reducing injury and liability.

The EPD, also called an epidural positioner or epidural chair, was created to promote ideal spinal flexion and hold patients steady during a spinal block. The EPD positions patients properly, comfortably, and securely during thoracic, cervical, and lumbar procedures. The device is mounted on an LDS base, and the upper part can be attached to an operating table with universal clamps. The epidural positioner accommodates a variety of body types and sizes. Its foot support, arm rests, chest support, face rest cushion, and height are adjustable.

Safety Improved During Thoracentesis with the EPD

Although the EPD is sometimes called an epidural chair, the patient actually sits on a hospital bed while the device is in use. A staff member can roll the device over to face the patient and lock the EPD in position with ease. Then the patient can lean forward slightly while resting their face, arms, chest, and feet on their respective supports. Once the patient is properly positioned, doctors and clinicians are free to perform thoracentesis without strain or worry. EPDs save time and labor costs while making medical procedures easier and more comfortable. The support they provide is imperative so that we can start seeing patient and staff safety improved during thoracentesis.

The EPD is used for Thoracentesis
CategoriesPatient Handling

Thoracentesis and the EPD

by sphmedicaladmin

Pneumonia, congestive heart failure, and certain types of cancer are some of the conditions that may require Thoracentesis (“Thora’s”). Doctors use this procedure to remove excess fluid from around your lungs in order to diagnose problems that are not obvious at first glance. However, “Thora’s”, epidurals, and spinal blocks are putting the health of patients and medical staff at risk. So, how do we safeguard patients and medical staff? The article discusses “Thora’s”, patient positioning, and patient and medical staff safety.

What is a Thoracentesis?

Thoracentesis is a minimally invasive procedure that involves removing fluid from the chest wall and the space between the lining of the outside of the lungs (pleura). This space is called pleural space and it lies between these two areas and it usually contains only a thin layer of fluid. When there are at least four teaspoons of fluid in this pleural space, it is called pleural fusion. In the U.S., over 1.5 million people each year experience a pleural effusion. Many things can cause the fluid to build up. The fluid puts additional pressure on your lungs, making breathing difficult. To remove the excess fluid and figure out what is causing the buildup, doctors perform a “Thora’s”. Based on your underlying condition, your doctor may drain more or less fluid. Various diseases, like pneumonia, some forms of cancer, congestive heart failure, and many others, may result in excessive fluid accumulation (pleural effusion).

Common Reasons for Thoracentesis

Some uses for “Thora’s” includes:

  • Assist in relieving lung pressure
  • Treat symptoms like pain and shortness of breath
  • Finding the cause of excessive fluid in the pleural space
  • Ruling out an infection

Doctors can perform this procedure in offices, hospitals or imaging departments. Typically, imaging departments are favored because their ultrasound experts possess the equipment to correctly place the needle for drainage. Their sonographers generally handle all the setup and preparation required before procedures. So, when the patient is ready, the doctor can performs the procedure. The procedure also requires several clinical staff members. During “Thora’s”, the staff must manually position the patients on the table or bed. Manual handling of patients occurs throughout hospitals today. Similar to positioning patients for Thoracentesis, patients are also manually positioned for procedures like, spinal blocks and epidurals, not to mention all of the repositioning and turning of patients.  This has put strain on the health of RN’s, LVN’s, CNA’s, transport staff and anyone involved in direct patient care.  The risk of injury to nurses have increased over the years as patients continue to get heavier and our nursing population ages.

How the Procedure is Performed

In the past patients were positioned manually for Thoracentesis. Staff would have the patient sit comfortably on a bed or chair withImprove Patient Comfort and Staff Safety with SPH Medical's EPD their arms and heads leaning forward relaxed on a table. Usually, an LPN, nurse, or sonographer would help the patient in getting into the preferred position by maneuvering a bedside table and supporting the patient with a stool. It is possible to stack pillows on the table so the patient can lean forward in comfort. Unfortunately, many bedside tables have no locking mechanism, and they can tip over easily. Positioning the patient in a risky manner like using unstable tables with pillows is not beneficial to the medical staff or patients, and may result in a nursing injury. Even though studies show it takes on average 10 to 15 minutes to perform Thora’s. This old fashioned manual positioning simply puts patients and nursing staff at risk for injury. Several studies have shown that all levels of clinical and nursing staff are at risk for musculoskeletal disorders due to the high frequency of recurring manual patient handling tasks. However, in the past decade, the healthcare industry has made significant progress in reducing hospital and nursing injury risks by implementing evidence based Safe Patient Handling programs. With safe patient Handling and mobility devices, caregiver safety and quality of care can be enhanced.

Safe Patient Handling

Manual patient handling is a leading cause of nurse injuries. As a result, several states now require hospitals to follow Patient Handling laws. Each inpatient unit must be evaluated for high-risk tasks including lifting, pulling, pushing, or prolonged static holds, and ways to minimize the risks. Over the past two decades, patient care has advanced significantly, including many safe patient handling strategies and new technology like the Epidural Positioning Device (EPD). Also known as epidural chair, this device is effective at reducing injuries during spinal blocks, epidurals, and thoracentesis.

Epidural Positioning Device

The Epidural Positioning Device is a device used to position patients properly and comfortably by enabling the ideal spinal flexion of their thoracic, cervical, and lumbar areas while maintaining a stable and solid position. Supports for the chest, arms, and head can be manually adjusted to fit a variety of body types and sizes, and the back stays still during epidural insertion. The Epidural Chair is the best option for use in delivery suites, operating rooms, pain centers, and other areas where epidurals and spinal block are administered. The base of the EPD is known as the LDS base and features a height adjustable foot support for assisting with patient positioning and providing comfort. In addition, it includes a mount for the EPD, the upper section that is also height adjustable and includes the arm rests, chest support and face rest cushion. The upper section of the EPD can be attached via universal clamps to an operating table and adjusted in a similar manner.

Improve Patient Comfort and Staff Safety with SPH Medical's EPD
CategoriesPatient Handling

Practicing Safe Patient Handling When Performing Thoracentesis

by sphmedicaladmin

Thoracentesis or Pleural Tap

Also known as a pleural tap, it happens when the doctors drain liquid buildup in the pleural space. Doing this enables the medical team to carry out a pleural fluid analysis to determine what might be causing an accumulation of fluids in or around the lungs. The pleural space, located between the chest and the lungs, typically has about four tablespoons of fluid. Various conditions can cause a reduction or increase of this fluid, which can be detrimental to the patient. Initially, carrying out this procedure meant that the patient would be twisted up to allow for the needle to go through. The epidural positioning chair has been a recent advancement for many pulmonologists, ultrasound imaging staff, and patients as well. Understanding what an EPD is and its usefulness will help doctors and patients think alike regarding epidurals, spinal block, and thoracentesis.

Why Do Patients need the Thoracentesis procedure?

Fluid buildup or reduction in the chest cavity can be detrimental to the health of the patient. The surest way of knowing what needs to be done is by carrying out a pleural fluid analysis. Excess fluid in or around the lungs can increase pressure and cause difficulty in breathing. On the other hand, less pleural fluid means that the lungs will not be well supported and can get damaged with time. Some of the main conditions that can cause fluid to build up in the chest are:

  • Cancer
  • Pneumonia
  • Chronic lung disease
  • Lung infections
  • Congestive heart failure

All these conditions can have dire consequences on the health of the patient. Before the fluid is drained from the chest cavity, the doctors need to know the cause of the build up. Knowing this helps them chart out a course of treatment to prevent further liquid from building up in the patient’s body.

What Is an Epidural Positioning Device?

An epidural positioning device or epidural chair helps the hospital staff position their patient well before inserting a needle into their body. This procedure typically requires that patients sit and lean forward with arms raised without moving for 10-30 minutes. This presents a few challenges for hospital staff. If the patient is sedated before the process it can mean that even more manual positioning and support is required by staff. In general ultrasound techs are working with the patient to prepare them for the thoracentesis procedure. First, the patient is usually seated on a stretcher or exam table. A stool may be brought over to support their feet. Then a bedside table stacked with pillows is often brought over to have the patient lean on with their arms and head. In many cases the table with pillows doesn’t lock properly. It can be a physical challenge to position the patient while at the same time locating the ideal location for needle insertion. Once positioned properly a staff member typically stands by to ensure that the patient doesn’t fall forward or slip off the stretcher. The bedside table solution is not ideal and presents a real risk to patients for falls.

Benefits of EPD

The EPD does has been a major advancement in patient positioning for this procedure. The Epidural Chair which has been used in Labor and Delivery units and Surgery departments to comfortably position patients for Epidurals and Spinal Blocks is now being used for Thoracentesis. The simple concept of positioning patients comfortably in the ideal seated position, leaning forward with arms and head supported really works well for Thoras. Hospitals like University of Virgina Medical Center and City of Hope, just to name a few, are using the EPD every day for Thoracentesis.

  • Reduced risk of injury to hospital staff
  • Increased Patient Satisfaction
  • Improved patient throughput
  • Reduced risk of falls
  • Improved needle placement
  • Supports patients of size up to 600lbs

The SPH Medical Epidural Positioning Chair or EPD is a simple yet effective Safe Patient Handling solution that is easily implemented in any hospital department. Contact SPH Medical for more information or to request a quote.

CategoriesPatient Handling

EPD for Thoracentesis

by sphmedicaladmin

What is Thoracentesis and what are the risks to patients and staff?

Thoracentesis is a procedure to remove the excess fluid that is found in the space between the lungs known as the pleural cavity. This is also sometimes called a Pleural Tap. The accumulation of fluid in the plural cavity is called pleural effusion. According to hospital staff patients with many different conditions or diagnosis experience this issue. Thoracentesis is performed for both diagnostic reasons, to determine why pleural effusion is occurring, and therapeutic reasons; to relieve the pressure on the lungs making it easier to breath, reduce pain, and shortness of breath. Patients can be seen in doctors offices and hospitals to drain this excess fluid. There are several key clinical staff members that are often involved in this procedure. In the hospital setting, thora’s are often performed in the imaging department.

Why the imaging department?

The imaging department is often the most common location to perform thora’s because the experts in ultrasound technology have the equipment needed to locate the right location in the rib cage to insert the needle for drainage. Sonographers are often tasked with all the patient prep and set up required to get the patient ready for the procedure. The pulmonologist will arrive after the patient is prepared perform the procedure.

Patients are typically sitting comfortably at the edge of a chair or bed and asked to lean forward over a table with a stool supporting their feet.

Once the sonographer has identified the correct location the doctor will clean the location and insert a local anesthetic to numb the area. Then the doctor will insert the needle between the ribs and into the pleural space to drain the fluid. The trained ultrasound staff will monitor the patient as the fluid is drained over 10-20 minutes. In some cases this will take longer.

What are the risks to patients?

There are several risks related to this procedure that are documented by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Rare complications include liver or spleen injuries. More common risks include a collapsed lung or pneumothorax, pain, bleeding, bruising, or infection.

Protecting patients and hospital staff

Over the last 10 years the healthcare industry has made significant progress nationally reducing risk of injury to nursing and hospital staff.  It has been well documented by the CDC/NIOSH and American Nurses Association after years of research by the Veteran’s Health Administration that clinical staff of all disciplines are at risk of career ending Musculoskeletal Disorders from manually lifting, moving, and positioning patients. Using Safe Patient Handling and mobility devices reduces a caregiver’s risk of injury and improves the safety and quality of patient care.

The EPD for Thoracentesis

A large University Medical Center’s Imaging department first contacted us in 2019 about Thoracentesis and the manual positioning issues they were facing. They described the unstable bedside table with non-locking wheels that they were having their patients lean over and the static holds that their staff were having to perform. The Imaging Director felt that their sonographers were manually positioning patients and being put at risk of injury. One staff member was injured which made finding a solution a top priority. In addition to staff injury concerns, patients were at risk of falling due to the current procedure of using the unsafe bedside table. They needed a better solution. The Epidural Chair or EPD seemed like a perfect fit. The head support, arm rests, and foot plate can all be positioned to support the patient safely and comfortably. They were excited to explore the use the EPD to support patients during this procedure.  After an onsite evaluation the feedback was unanimous. The pulmonologists and sonographers all agreed that the EPD was the ideal solution to reduce risk of injury to staff and to improve patient safety and comfort. Today the EPD for Thoracentesis procedures is becoming the new standard of care for patient and staff safety.

SPH Medical was founded on the principals of improving workplace safety for our frontline caregivers and improving patient outcomes through Safe Patient Handling and mobility across the entire continuum of care, from the ICU to home. Contact SPH Medical to request more information.

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