In the 2 videos below, you can find very useful tips related to Nasogastric or Nose Tube Feeding published by 2 well known hospitals in Singapore:
Below is by Tan Tock Seng hospital:
Below is published by Singapore General Hospital:
The summary of the tips as well as what I do is:
1. Prepare feed in advance. You can place the formula feed in warm water to heat it up. Do not boil or put in microwave as it would destroy the nutrients. You may take a stainless steel jug, placed some warm water. I usually soak the feed in warm water an hour in advance before feed time. Then 30 minutes before, I will change the water.
2. The person has to remain in an upright position for minimum 30 minutes (preferably 2 hours) after feed. Hence, please ensure diaper changes and phlegm suction are done before the feed.
3. Each time before feed, you need to check if the person has digested the previous feed. Using a 50ml syringe, bend the tube before placing the syringe. Gently pull out to see if there are undigested content. For me, if I see the content is more than 40ml, I would not do the feed. I would wait for 30 minutes before trying again.
4. During feed, place the person in preferably a sitting position or at 45 degrees to prevent the fluid from flowing back upwards. It is dangerous as it might end up in the lungs causing aspiration pneumonia. The video below shows how aspiration pneumonia could happen due to gastric reflux:
If you wish to see how it is being done on a life patient, below are 2 videos published by Thai hospitals:
For complete listing of articles related to Alzheimer’s and Tube Feeding, please visit this resource page.
