Word parts
What it means
The provider numbs the skin and puts a needle between two ribs into the pleural space, the thin space between the lung and the chest wall. Removing fluid helps the client breathe, and the fluid can be sent to the lab to find the cause. Ultrasound is often used to guide the needle.
For the nurse
Before: check that consent is signed and help the client sit upright, leaning forward over the overbed table. During: the client must keep still and try not to cough. After: watch breathing, oxygen saturation and the site, and report sudden shortness of breath, chest pain or less air movement on that side, which could mean a collapsed lung. A chest x-ray is often done afterward.
At a glance
| Spanish | toracocentesis |
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Related terms
pneumothorax
Air in the space between a lung and the chest wall, which lets part or all of that lung collapse.
pleural effusion
A buildup of extra fluid in the pleural space, between the lining of the lung and the chest wall.