Practice Question
The nurse is caring for a postoperative client who has a chest tube connected to suction and a water seal drainage system. Which of the following indicates to the nurse that the chest tube is functioning properly?
Answer Choices:
Correct Answer:
Fluctuation of the fluid level within the water seal chamber
Rationale:
✅ Tidaling, or fluctuation of fluid in the water seal chamber, reflects the client’s inspiratory and expiratory pressure changes, which confirms a patent pleural connection.
✅ When functioning properly, the water will rise during inspiration and fall during expiration — this is a normal and expected finding.
✅ The absence of tidaling may indicate obstruction or lung re-expansion, while continuous bubbling in the water seal (not suction chamber) indicates an air leak.
✅ Fluctuation reassures the nurse that the system is intact and draining intrapleural air or fluid effectively.
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This question is from RN ATI Custom Nurs 235 Summer~2023(Final) which contains 65 questions.
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Question Details
- Category: RN Nursing Exam(s)
- Subcategory: ATI Exam(s)
- Domain: RN ATI MedSurg
- Answer Choices: 4