Development of an Electronic Manometer for Intrapleural Pressure Monitoring

Abstract

Background: Measurement of intrapleural pressure is useful during various pleural procedures. However, a pleural manometer is rarely available. Objectives: The aim of this study was to (1) construct an electronic pleural manometer, (2) assess the accuracy of the measurements done with the new device, (3) calculate the costs of the manometer construction and (4) perform an initial evaluation of the device in a clinical setting. Methods: Only widely accessible elements were used to construct the device. A vascular pressure transducer was used to transform pressure into an electronic signal. Reliability of the measurements was evaluated in a laboratory setting in a prospective, single-blind manner by comparing the results with those measured by a water manometer. Functionality of the device was assessed during therapeutic thoracentesis. The cost of the new pleural manometer was calculated. Results: We built a small, portable device which can precisely measure intrapleural pressure. The measurement results showed very high agreement with those registered with a water manometer (r = 0.999; p < 0.001). The initial evaluation of the electronic manometer during therapeutic thoracentesis showed it was easy to use. The total time needed for 6 measurements after withdrawal of different volumes of pleural fluid in 1 patient did not exceed 6 min. The total cost of the device was calculated to be <2,000 EUR. Conclusions: In the face of very limited offer of commercially available pleural manometers, it is possible to successfully construct a self-made, reliable, electronic pleural manometer at modest costs. The device is easy to use and enables data display and storage in the personal computer.

A New Method for Performing Continuous Manometry during Pleural Effusion Drainage

“…This is quite simple and can be achieved by connecting the pressure transducer and drainage-volume transducer (in this case, from a weighted cell which transduces the change in weight of the drainage bag) to a computerized system that can plot pressure-volume values in real time and calculate the PEL. We used a urodynamics machine for this because it was easily available in our center, but it would not be hard to simply use a laptop computer with the appropriate software installed [10]. A further simplification could be achieved if double lumen chest tubes and thoracentesis kits were commercially available.…”

Physiologic Basis of Symptoms in Pleural Disease

“…34 Electronic transducer (ET) systems, including disposable DMs), have also been used for measurement of Ppl. [35][36][37][38] Lee et al compared the accuracy of the DM to UT and ET. 39 They found a strong correlation with measurements made from the DM and ET but poor between the UT and ET.…”

Cough during therapeutic thoracentesis: Friend or foe?

“…Previously, we reported the development of an electronic pleural manometer that has several advantages over water manometer including overdamped water manometer . A new research project that is aimed at the assessment of the pathophysiological effects of P pl changes during therapeutic thoracentesis has been recently undertaken in our institution.…”

“…Patients with moderate or large volume pleural effusions who required therapeutic thoracentesis were enrolled. Thoracentesis and pleural manometry were performed as described elsewhere . Briefly, baseline P pl was registered and then the measurements were subsequently repeated after withdrawal of each 200 mL of pleural fluid up to a total volume of 1000 mL.…”