Placing a nasogastric tube is a critical skill for nurses providing care in many different care settings. Their use is often indicated for both diagnostic and therapeutic treatment of patients, including to assess and treat upper gastrointestinal tract bleeding, withdraw gastric contents for analysis, allow gastric lavage, to provide long- and short-term feeding, to administer medications, and for gastric decompression.
After completing this course, the learner should be able to:
~ Describe the different types of nasogastric tubes
~ List indications and contraindications for the use of nasogastric tubes
~ Describe the process of placing a nasogastric tube
~ Identify signs of respiratory distress indicating the tube has passed into the trachea
~ Describe three methods of verifying placement of the tube in the stomach
~ Explain the procedure for removing a nasogastric tube
~ List key items that must be documented when placing and removing a nasogastric tube
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