GB2351442A

GB2351442A - Chest drainage bag

Info

Publication number: GB2351442A
Application number: GB0011372A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Graham George Lester; Victoria Hudson
Original assignee: Smiths Group PLC
Current assignee: Smiths Group PLC
Priority date: 1999-05-21
Filing date: 2000-05-12
Publication date: 2001-01-03
Also published as: GB0011372D0; GB9911858D0

Abstract

A chest drainage bag comprises an inlet 9, internal member 30 between the inlet and opposite end of the bag that allows liquid to flow to the opposite end but hinders flow in the other direction, and an absorbent material 21 at the opposite end that is capable of converting liquid into a semi-solid state. The internal member is preferably a flap extending across the width of the bag and welded at spaced locations 35 to a wall of the bag. The absorbent material is preferably contained in a sachet 20 which may also include antimicrobial and deodorizing substances. The bag may have a gas vent 10 and an outlet 5, said outlet is normally closed by folding or rolling then clipped or tied shut. The sachet may be made of a water soluble polymer, such as polyvinyl alcohol, and the absorbent material may be sodium polyacrylate.

Description

2351442 DRAINAGE BAGS This invention relates to drainage bags and methods

of collecting and disposing of liquid from a patient..

Drainage bags are used to contain waste material from a patient for later disposal. They may be used to contain waste urine or faecal material or material drained from the pleural cavity or a wound, such as, for example, described in GB 2190355. It has been proposed in PCT/GB98/03403 that such a bag contain a substance to absorb the liquid contents and convert it into a gel or similar semi-solid material so as to reduce the risk of leakage of material should the bag be damaged or tipped over.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an alternative medical drainage bag and method.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a medical drainage bag having an inlet towards one end and an absorbent material towards its opposite end capable of converting liquid entering the bag into a semi-solid state, the bag having an internal member between the one end and opposite end that allows liquid to flow to the opposite end but is effective to hinder movement of the semi-solid material to the inlet.

The internal member preferably is a flap of flexible material extending across the width of the bag. Thd internal member is preferably attached to a wall of the bag at spaced locations towards the lower end of the internal member, such as by welding. The inlet 2 preferably opens into the bag between the internal member and a wall of the bag. The bag may include a vent located towards the one end. The bag preferably includes a closable outlet towards the opposite end, the outlet being sufficiently large to enable semi-solid material within the bag to be expelled through the outlet. The outlet is preferably a narrow extension of front and rear walls of the bag and is closable by folding or rolling. The absorbent material is preferably contained in a sachet that enables the absorbent material to contact the liquid. The bag may include an antimicrobial substance effective to reduce microbial activity of the contents of the bag and may include a deodorizing substance effective to reduce the escape of odour from the bag.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of collecting and disposing of liquid from a patient including the steps of collecting the liquid in a bag, converting the liquid into a semi-solid state within the bag, subsequently emptying the semi-solid material from the bag and disposing of the serni-solid material and the bag separately.

The method may include the step of reducing microbial activity of the contents of the bag prior to emptying the bag.

A chest drainage bag according to the present invention, will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure I. is a front elevation view of the bag with its outlet closed; 3 Figure 2 is a front elevation view of the lower part of the bag with its outlet open;and Figure 3 is a sectional side elevation view along the line III-III of Figure 1.

The bag is of generally rectangular shape formed from two walls or sheets 1 and 2 of a flexible, water-impermeable plastics material, such as PVC, joined together around their edge by a weld line 3. The lower end 4 of the bag has a narrow extension or outlet 5, shown most clearly in the open state in Figure 2. The weld line 3 between the two sheets 1 and 2 extends along opposite sides of the extension 5 but does not extend across its lower end 6, so that a passage can be formed through the extension. In normal use, the outlet 5 is sealed closed, as shown in Figure 1, by rolling it or folding it across its width several times. It is retained in this rolled or folded condition by means of a wire tie 7 wrapped about the outlet. Alternatively, a clip could be fastened across the outlet 5 to clamp the two sheets 1 and 2 together.

At its opposite, upper end 8 the bag has an inlet 9 and an air or gas vent 10. The inlet 9 comprises a flexible chest drainage tube 11 projecting into the bag a short distance and welded between the two sheets 1 and 2, towards one side of the bag. A one-way duck-bill valve 12 or similar device is secured to the lower end of the tube 11 inside the bag so that fluid can flow into the bag but cannot escape from the bag via the tube. The other end of the chest drainage tube 11 extends to a chest drainage catheter (not shown) by which fluid flows from the pleural cavity of the patient.

4 The air vent 10 comprises a short tube 14 welded between the two sheets 1 and 2 towards the opposite side of the bag from the inlet 9. The tube 14 extends a short distance inside and outside the bag, its upper, outer end being terminated by an open cage 15 to prevent occlusion.

The bag may have conventional hanging loops or straps (not shown) by which it is supported from a hanger, bed or directly on the patient.

Inside the bag there is a small sachet 20 containing a super-absorbent powder 21. The sachet 20 enables the powder to contact liquid entering the bag by being made from a material that is broken up on contact with aqueous liquids. Preferably, the sachet 20 is made of a cold watersoluble polymer material, such as polyvinyl alcohol. It will be appreciated that it is not essential that the entire sachet 20 be made of such a material since it is only necessary for the sachet to allow its contents to come into contact with liquid entering the bag. The sachet could, for example, have a panel or seam that breaks down when contacted by the liquid. The sachet 20 is retained at the lower end 4 of the bag such as by trapping an edge of the sachet between the weld line 3 of the two sheets 1 and 2, towards one side of the bag, away from the outlet 5. The super-absorbent substance 21 is preferably sodium polyacrylate in combination with an antimicrobial substance such as povidone-iodine. The quantity and nature of the absorbent material 21 is selected such as to be effective in converting the entire contents of a full bag into a gellike, semi-solid substance. The antimicrobial substance is effective to render inactive bacteria in the bag or, at least, to reduce the microbial activit3f of the contents of the bag. The bag may also contain a deodorizing substance such as sepiolite infiltrated with the povidoneiodine, such as described by Ohta et al in Biol Pharm Bull, 22(l):42-7 1999 Jan. This helps reduce escape of odour from the bag during use.

The bag has an internal member in the form of a sheet or flap 30 of flexible material between the front and rear walls 1 and 2 of the bag. The internal sheet 30 extends across the entire width of the bag but only extends down along the upper one third of the length of the bag. The upper end 31 and sides 32 and 33 of the internal sheet 30 are trapped and welded between the outer walls 1 and 2 at the weld line 3. The lower end 34 of the internal sheet 30 is spot welded in several spaced locations 35 to the inside of the rear wall 2 and lies below the level of the lower ends of the inlet 9 and the gas vent 10. The upper end 31 of the internal sheet 30, where it is secured between the inner and outer sheets 1 and 2, extends around the front side of the inlet 9 and the vent 10. In this way, the inlet 9 and vent 10 both open within the semi-closed envelope formed between the internal sheet 30 and the rear sheet 2 so that fluid entering the bag must flow between these sheets and can flow freely through the gaps between the spot welds 35 into the lower part 4 of the bag. Gas can vent freely from the lower part of the bag to the vent 10 through the gaps between the spot welds 3 5. Gas entering the bag from the inlet 9 can flow directly to the vent 10, within the semi-closed envelope formed by the internal sheet 30 and the rear sheet 2.

In use, the outlet 5 of the bag is closed and the chest drainage tube 11 is connected to the patient catheter so that fluid flows into the bag through the valve 12. The fluid flows down the bag, between the spot welds 35, until it contacts the sachet 20. This causes the sachet 20 to break u and release its contents 2 1, which rapidly converts the fluid into a semisolid, gel state and neutralizes any bacteria present. Gas may also be expelled from the 6 patient into the bag where it is free to escape to atmosphere through the vent 10. As the bag fills, the level of its contents may rise close to the lower end 34 of the internal sheet 30. This has the effect of pressing the internal sheet 30 into closer contact with the rear sheet 2 and prevents the bag contents coming into contact with the inlet 9. It will be appreciated that alternative internal members could be used to hinder movement of the contents of the bag into contact with the inlet 9.

When the bag is full, it is emptied by unwrapping the wire tie 7 and unfolding the outlet extension 5. The bag is then squeezed to expel the semi-solid contents through the outlet 5. The outlet 5 may then folded up again and secured or left open. The width of the outlet extension 5 is selected to enable the semi-solid contents to be squeezed out readily. Because the contents of the present bag are converted into a semi-solid state, the drainage outlet is less likely to leak. The relatively large size of the drainage outlet necessary to expel the gel makes it less prone to blocking by solid material such as blood clots. - The contents of the bag are readily disposed of in a hospital sluice. The antimicrobial substance in the bag reduces the risk of hazard to the user during disposal. The empty bag can be incinerated readily because it has been drained of its contents.

7

Claims

1. A medical drainage bag having an inlet towards one end and an absorbent material towards its opposite end capable of converting liquid entering the bag into a semisolid state, wherein the bag has an internal member between the one end and opposite end that allows liquid to flow to the opposite end but is effective to hinder movement of the semi-solid material to the inlet.

2 A bag according to Claim 1, wherein the internal member is a flap of flexible material extending across the width of the bag.

3. A bag according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the internal member is attached to a wall of the bag at spaced locations towards the lower end of the internal member.

4. A bag according to Claim 3, wherein the internal member is attached to the wall of the bag by welding.

5. A bag according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the inlet opens into the bag between the internal member and a wall of the bag.

6. A bag according to any one of the preceding claims including a vent located towards the one end.

8 A bag according to any one of the preceding claims including a closable outlet towards the opposite end, and wherein the outlet is sufficiently large to enable semisolid material within the bag to be expelled through the outlet.

8. A bag according to Claim 7, wherein the outlet is a narrow extension of front and rear walls of the bag.

9. A bag according to Claim 7 or 8, wherein the outlet is closable by folding or rolling.

10. A bag according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the absorbent material is contained in a sachet that enables the absorbent material to contact the liquid.

11. A bag according to any one of the preceding claims including an antimicrobial substance effective to reduce microbial activity of the contents of the bag.

12. A bag according to any one of the preceding claims including a deodorizing substance effective to reduce the escape of odour from the bag.

13. A chest drainage bag substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

14. A method of collecting and disposing of liquid from a patient including the steps of collecting thdliquid in a bag, converting the liquid into a semi-solid state within the 9 bag, subsequently emptying the semi-solid material from the bag and disposing of the semi-solid material and the bag separately.

15. A method according to Claim 14 including the step of reducing the microbial activity of the contents of the bag prior to emptying the bag.

16. A method substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

17. A bag for use in the method according to any one of Claims 14 to 16.

18. Any novel and inventive feature or combination of features as hereinbefore described.