During a tutorial this past week, the consulting doctor told us that the patient had a “drain worm”. Unfortunately the patient was present and awake, and his face turned an impressive shade of green. Our faces paled too, I’m sure.
The doctor rushed to assure the patient that it was not an actual squirmy-wormy, but a long strand of fibrin that often forms along the course of the ICD-pipe. It has the potential of clogging the pipe completely and leading to a tension pneumothorax, hence the relevance.
Regardless of it not being a “real” worm, this grossed me out more than the average medical phenomenon. Here’s hoping I never need an ICD of my own, because I would probably try to clean it compulsively.
In case you were wondering, you do get cases of REAL drain worms… in cases of severe Ascaris Lumbricoidis infection. Click the image for the full article.Hope I didn’t ruin your appetite or anything…