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CE: Monitoring Adult Patients for Intolerance to Gastric Tube Feedings
1Norma A. Metheny is the Dorothy A. Votsmier Endowed Chair in Nursing and professor emerita at Saint Louis University, St. Louis. Contact author: norma.metheny@slu.edu . The author and planners have disclosed no potential conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise. A podcast with the author is available at www.ajnonline.com .
The American Journal of Nursing
|July 13, 2021
Summary
Gastric tube feeding is crucial for many patients, but intolerance can occur. This review covers risk factors, assessment methods, and best practices for monitoring feeding tolerance, including in COVID-19 patients.
Area of Science:
- Clinical Nursing
- Gastroenterology
- Critical Care Medicine
Background:
- Gastric tube feeding is a life-saving intervention for patients unable to consume food orally.
- Feeding intolerance is a common complication that can hinder effective nutritional support.
- Monitoring feeding tolerance is essential for patient outcomes in various healthcare settings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review risk factors and clinical signs of gastric tube feeding intolerance.
- To discuss methods for assessing gastric emptying, including gastric residual volume (GRV) monitoring.
- To explore current guidelines and best nursing practices for monitoring enteral feeding tolerance, especially in critically ill COVID-19 patients.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of risk factors, assessment techniques, and monitoring practices for feeding intolerance.
- Analysis of studies on gastric emptying assessment, including GRV monitoring.
- Synthesis of national and international enteral feeding guidelines (2015-2020).
Main Results:
- Feeding intolerance presents with various signs and symptoms, requiring careful assessment.
- Gastric residual volume (GRV) monitoring is a debated method for assessing feeding tolerance.
- Special considerations exist for monitoring feeding tolerance in critically ill COVID-19 patients.
Conclusions:
- Effective monitoring of gastric tube feeding tolerance is vital for patient care.
- Evidence-based practices and critical appraisal of monitoring methods like GRV are necessary.
- Nurses play a key role in optimizing enteral nutrition delivery and managing feeding intolerance.
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