English summary sammEndragPain due to chest-tue removal Background: Chest tube removal in post cardiac patients can be a painful procedure. Studies have shown that patients report moderate to strong pain due to removal of chest tubes. Internationally, there are few evidence-based guidelines for pain management due to removal of chest tubes, and studies have shown that pain treatment is both subjective and variable.Objective: To map out how pain and pain management as a result of removal of chest tubes was considered, documented and managed at a postoperative unit, Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet. Method:The design is two-fold: retrospective survey of pain management in patient registers and questionnaire for nurses who manage the pain process.Results: A total of 76 patient journals were reviewed and 31 nurses/ intensive nurses responded to the questionnaire. The primary results were that pain documentation was inadequate, as only half of the patients had their NRS (numeric rating scale) documented in the patient register. There was also a gap between what the nurses said that they documented and what was actually documented. There were also variations in the pain management. Two-thirds of the patients had not been given analgesics within 30 minutes before chest tube removal. The nurses reported that not knowing when the chest tube would be removed was the primary reason why analgesics were not given. 1, 2012; 7: 66-73 Conclusion

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