25% of NG tubes-Tuesday Tube Facts

Approximately 25% of nasogastric tubes ‘fall out’ or are pulled out by patients soon after insertion. Tubes, especially those that are fine bore, can be displaced by coughing or vomiting.[1]

There is however no evidence to support the use of weighted NG tubes in terms of either placement or maintenance of position.[1]

References:

Stroud, M., Duncan, H., Nightingale, J. Guidelines for enteral feeding in adult hospital patients. Gut. 2003. 52:vii1-vii12.

References:

Melissa L. Stewart. Interruptions in enteral nutrition delivery in critically ill patients and recommendations for clinical practice. CriticalCareNurse. Vol 34, No. 4, August 2014 https://aacnjournals.org/ccnonline.

References:

A Natural History of Gastrojejunostomy Tubes in Children. Rachel E Wilson, Pavithra K Rao, Aaron J Cunningham, Elizabeth N Dewey, Sanjay Krishnaswami, and Nicholas A Hamilton. J Surg Res. 2020 Jan;245:461-466.