[ADMINISTRATION OF ENTERAL NUTRITION. USE OF INFUSION PUMPS]

Enteral nutrition (NE) is a technique of artificial nutrition that enables management by digestive tract of a defined mixture of nutrients and water, by means of probes implanted nasally or by enterostomies (eg: gastrostomy). Whenever the patient present limitations for voluntary oral ingestion or swallowing of the nutrients, and digestive capacity permitted to absorb nutrients, will draw the administration through a tube. Concern for the nutritional status of the patients is a more present reality among health professionals have demonstrated the direct relationship between malnutrition and morbidity and mortality of hospitalized patients. Enteral nutrition has become a useful procedure for the treatment of these patients, reducing their morbidity and mortality. The NE can be administered by infusion by gravity drip (less clinical use) pump and syringe (bolus), taking into account the speed of it, thus avoiding a large number of complications (usually due to too rapid administrations), so the method employed will be adjusted to the needs of each patient, whereas, the tolerance and its risk of aspiration. In this paper we will focus on the NE by infusion pump administration emphasizing the reduction of complications with this methodology against the administration by bolus (syringe).