Implications for clinical practice
•
Nasogastric tube misplacement and delayed feeding remain significant clinical risks because of the limitations of pH
and X-ray in confirming gastric position.
•
Risk could be reduced by applying confirmation based on risk. When risk is low, where patients are conscious, first-line
gastric confirmation should be a pH
≤
5.0. High risk, unconscious patients should have capnography/capnometry done
at 35 cm depth to pre-empt potential lung trauma followed by pH to confirm gastric position. Alternatively, if EM
tracing is proven, this can be used both to pre-empt lung trauma and confirm gastric position. Patients at very high
risk of misplacement, due to anatomical abnormalities, require endoscopic or fluoroscopic placement under direct
vision. X-ray should be reserved as second-line confirmation in all situations.
•
Staff must have adequate training and support for any confirmation method to be correctly interpreted.
•
Risk of misplacement must be balanced against risk of delayed nutrition, particularly in critical illness and repeated
tube replacement.