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Reducing bacterial contamination of enteral feeds

C J Patchell1, A Anderton, C Holden

  • 1Children's Hospital, Birmingham.

Archives of Disease in Childhood
|May 14, 1998
PubMed

Insights

Implementing an improved enteral feeding protocol and staff training significantly reduced bacterial contamination in pediatric enteral feeds. Contamination rates dropped from 62% to 6% at home and 45% to 4% in hospitals.

Area of Science:

  • Clinical Nutrition
  • Infection Control
  • Pediatric Healthcare

Background:

  • Microbial contamination of enteral feeds is a common issue in pediatric patients.
  • Previous studies indicate frequent bacterial contamination in both hospital and home enteral feeding settings.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the impact of an enhanced enteral feeding protocol and staff training on bacterial contamination.
  • To determine the effectiveness of interventions in reducing microbial load in pediatric enteral nutrition.

Main Methods:

  • Modified the enteral feeding protocol including alcohol disinfection, use of gloves, and extended feed reservoir use (24 hours).
  • Collected and cultured daily feed samples from 16 pediatric inpatients and home-based patients.
  • Compared contamination rates with historical control data.

Main Results:

  • Significantly reduced enteral feed contamination rates from 62% to 6% for home-administered feeds (p < 0.001).
  • Achieved a significant reduction in contamination rates from 45% to 4% for hospital-administered feeds (p < 0.001).

Conclusions:

  • An optimized enteral feeding protocol is crucial for minimizing bacterial contamination.
  • Regular and intensive staff training is essential for maintaining low contamination levels in enteral feeds.
  • Interventions successfully reduced enteral feed contamination to acceptable levels.
Abstract

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