You are here

Article Text

Article menu
Download PDFPDF
Short research reports
Improved radiological assessment of neonatal feeding tubes
  1. Daniel Quandt1,
  2. Egil Brøns1,
  3. Philipp Meyer Schiffer1,
  4. Thomas Schraner2,
  5. Hans Ulrich Bucher1,
  6. Romaine Arlettaz Mieth1
  1. 1Division of Neonatology, University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland
  2. 2Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Children's Hospital Zurich, Switzerland
  1. Correspondence to Daniel Quandt, Division of Neonatology, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, University Hospital Zurich, Frauenklinikstrasse 10, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland; daniel.quandt{at}kispi.uzh.ch

Abstract

Background In about one-fifth of radiographs performed in neonates, no exact gastric feeding tube position can be defined.

Objectives To determine whether injection of air via feeding tube before taking radiographs improves radiological assessment of its position.

Methods In the study group (n=153), air was injected via gastric feeding tube before taking a radiograph. The tube position on radiographs was compared with a blinded control group (n=381) with no injection of air.

Results The definition of exact gastric tube position was possible in 95% of the study group compared with 78% in the control group (p<0.001).

Conclusion Injection of air before taking a radiograph significantly improves the definition of exact gastric feeding tube position in neonates.

https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2011-301158

Statistics from Altmetric.com

    Request Permissions

    If you wish to reuse any or all of this article please use the link below which will take you to the Copyright Clearance Center’s RightsLink service. You will be able to get a quick price and instant permission to reuse the content in many different ways.

    View Full Text

    Footnotes

    • Competing interests None.

    • Ethics approval Ethical Commission of the Children's Hospital in Zurich, Switzerland.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.