The importance of safe NG tube placement

Nasogastric Tube Misplacement and Complications in Pediatrics

Naso/oro gastric feeding or decompression tubes are essential tools in the fight to save patients in the neonatal intensive unit. However, the placement of these tubes can be dangerous and certain confirmation methodologies, such as auscultation, should be avoided.

Our friends at the Children’s Hospital Association published a Public Safety Alert in 2012 which is still relevant today. They identified an immediate need for pediatric providers to consider the risks associated with blind NG Tube placement and provided recommendations to prevent harm as this is the most common method of insertion of nasogastric (NG) tubes is blind passage.