[Follow-up of drug administration through nasogastric tube: development of a practice guideline]

To carry out a study of how medication is administered by catheter in daily practice in our hospital. To prepare a practical guide for the administration of medication by catheter.

in-patients using enteral feeding tubes, except ICU. Study duration: 2 months.

Through a single-dose medication distribution system, the nutrition team's pharmacist prospectively collects the data on the medication of patients subjected to enteral feeding through a catheter and compares these data with the nursing record and, if the medication has been incorrectly handled, makes the pertinent recommendations. Using the information obtained from the pharmaceutical industry and a review of the literature, a guide is drawn up for the medicines used with catheters.

The study was carried out with 25 patients receiving enteral nutrition. A total of 55 different pharmaceutical preparations were used. Administration was correct in 116 of the 123 medicines prescribed (91%); the other 5 drugs (9%) were incorrectly handled. A total of 16 alterations were recommended in 25 patients (64 recommendations/100 patients), of which 9 involved a change of pharmaceutical form from solid to liquid, 4 were due to incorrect handling of the solid form, 2 because of interaction between the medication and enteral nutrition and 1 because of interaction between concomitant medications. A guide was drawn up for the administration of medication by catheter, covering a total of 179 active substances and 197 pharmaceutical products.

The presence of a pharmacist in clinical units facilitates the detection and solution of problems associated with the administration of medication via catheters. The preparation of a handbook as a tool for the intra-catheter administration of medicines is a useful starting point for improving the use of medication and facilitating nursing tasks.