Hi all

how are you doing naso/orogastric tube placement verification in your unit?

We're stll doing the auscultation technique is this still a valid tool?

regards

Thought this would be relevant here:

de Boer JC, Smit BJ, Mainous RO. Nasogastric tube position and intragastric air collection in a neonatal intensive care population. Adv Neonatal Care. 2009 Dec;9(6):293-8.

LINK

Hi there,

In our unit the practice is to aspirate a small amount of stomach contents and test with litmus paper - as a general rule the stomach contents should be acidic. This is not foolproof but we have found it to be more accurate than auscultation.
 

Update:  We now use pH indicator strips as in the post below.

We are no longer permitted to use litmus paper in the UK. We use pH indicators which look a bit like urine dipstix. The pH must be 5 or less to verify acidity of stomach contents. Litmus paper only indicates Ph <7.

Incidentally, we would NEVER use auscultation to verify position of gastric tube.

See:- Freer,Y., Lyon,A.(2005) Nasogastric tube aspirate pH values associated with typical enteral feeding patterns in infants admitted to an NICU.Journal of Neonatal Nursing.11(3)106-109.

We use the auscultation method and measuring. I like to see gastric content also.

Hi , thanks for the feedback

please can you send me the link plz

Regards

We place it and aspirate. If secretions are aspirated it is assumed to be in the stomach. No auscultation or litmus testing for us

We verify initial placement with x-ray, and then aspirate/auscultate before each use.

Here, in the 2 units in Australia I have worked in, it has been policy to use litmus paper in 1 and ph paper in the other.

I have also worked in Edinburgh in the same unit Dr Lyon and Yvonne Freer who wrote the above article and it was litmus paper we used there :-)

in our unit,, we use auscultation method , and sometimes we advice also for x ray in any concerns about the  placement