ICU procedures, treatment and equipment Flashcards
Bronchoscopy
- Type of test where a small camera is inserted into the lungs
Whats it for
- To look at the inside lining of the windpipe
- Remove sputum or blood clots from inside the lungs
- Get samples of the fluid inside the lung to test for infection or to take biopsies
Chest drain
- Long tubes which are passed through the gap between two ribs or under the ribcage into the space around the lung connected to a container
Whats it for
- Lets fluid and air escape collected outside of the lung
Continuous renal replacement therapy CRRT
- Type of treatment to replace the function of the kidneys when they are not working properly
How is it performed
- A small tube (vascath) is inserted into a large vein in the body
- This tube is used to draw blood out of the body and pass it through a dialysis machine, which washes the blood and returns it to the patient
Echocardiogram
- Ultrasound of the heart
- “Transthoracic” where the ultrasound probe is placed on the persons chest
- “Transoesophageal” where the ultrasound probe is passed through the mouth into the oesophagus
Enteral feeding
- Food that is passed through the digestive tract usually by a nasogastric tube
Pulmonary artery catheter
What is it
- Long, thin plastic tube which is inserted into a vein in the neck and passed through the heart and into the lungs
Why is it needed
- Used to measure the pressure inside the blood vessels of the lungs, and also to measure how well the heart is pumping
- Commonly used during and shortly after surgery on the heart
Vascath or dialysis catheter
- A vascath is a long, thin plastic tube which is inserted into a large vein
- It can then be attached to a dialysis machine
Why is it needed
- Allow blood to be removed from the persons body and also to be returned to the body after it has been passed through the dialysis machine
