Video Assisted System for Nasogastric Tube Placement

This study used 15 Fr feeding tubes with an outer diameter of 4.5 mm and an inner diameter of 3.5 mm (Freka®, Bad Homburg, Germany). Patients were advised to maintain nothing by mouth (NPO) for at least four hours before the placement. An insufflation device (Olympus, Tokyo, Japan) was utilized whenever necessary to facilitate feeding tube placement or confirm its position. In cases where misplacement into the trachea was detected, the feeding tube was carefully withdrawn and reinserted into stomach. After successful insertion, all feeding tubes were securely fixed with tape on the nose. The position of NG tube was reconfirmed by traditional auscultation. Chest X-ray imaging was performed for every patient after the NG tube placement to verify the positioning of the tube by the primary care physician. Time to visual confirmation of stomach position, for completing tube placement with/without air insufflation were recorded. Numbers of attempts, vocal cord/trachea visualization and air insufflation were also recorded. A study assistant monitored the patient's condition for the subsequent seven days, recording any observed complications or adverse events.

Inclusion criteria

• Patients (>20 y/o) requiring enteral feeding and/or medication with an expected duration longer than 48 hours were eligible for inclusion.

Exclusion criteria

• Patients can't receive an X-ray after the procedure to confirm tube position (e.g. pregnancy)
• Patients with hemodynamic instability (defined as mean arterial pressure <65 mmHg)
• Patients with a history of basal skull fracture.