Enteral feeding techniques have always been challenging for the patients and the caregivers. The objective of enteral feedings is to provide nourishment to the patient through a tube inserted directly into the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.
Feeding tubes are used for patients who have a functional GI tract but cannot take foods orally to fulfill their daily nutritional needs. Depending upon the person’s health conditions, the feeding tube may be placed either temporarily or permanently throughout a lifetime.
The gastroenteric tube is vital in managing critically ill patients and has a poor voluntary intake. However, despite the multiple benefits, caregivers face various problems and complications while feeding patients via feeding tubes. But most of these problems have solutions, and this article discussed them in detail.
The Common Complications Associated with the Feeding Tube
There can be multiple feeding tube-related complications, and most of them can be resolved if identified at the right time.
Aspiration
Enteral tube feedings may cause pulmonary aspiration, when foods, liquids, or other foreign substances are breathed into the lungs. In other words, aspiration occurs when food and drinks pass through the wrong tube - that’s the trachea or the windpipe.
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