The blind insertion of nasogastric tubes at the
bedside will always carry a risk of failure and misplacement (Lloyd and Powell-Tuck 2004).
It is difficult to quantify risk or incidence
of nasogastric tube misplacement, but research
suggests that 1.2-4.0% of tubes are misplaced
in the lungs and 0.3-0.7% will result in damage
to the lungs (Rassias et al 1998, Sorokin and
Gottlieb 2006, Krenitsky 2011, Sparks et al
2011, Rollins et al 2012). Taylor and Clemente
(2005) estimated that risk of death related to
blind nasogastric tube insertion could occur in
one per 100,000 people. These figures suggest
a low incidence of patient harm and that many
thousands of tubes are placed safely. However,
if a nasogastric tube is misplaced and feed is
delivered into the tracheobronchial tree or pleural
cavity, it can result in serious harm or death.