{"id":138076,"date":"2024-09-14T06:00:15","date_gmt":"2024-09-14T06:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/learnexams.com\/blog\/?p=138076"},"modified":"2024-09-14T06:00:17","modified_gmt":"2024-09-14T06:00:17","slug":"a-nurse-is-preparing-to-administer-an-intermittent-enteral-feeding-through-a-small-bore-ng-tube","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/2024\/09\/14\/a-nurse-is-preparing-to-administer-an-intermittent-enteral-feeding-through-a-small-bore-ng-tube\/","title":{"rendered":"A nurse is preparing to administer an intermittent enteral feeding through a small-bore NG tube"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>A nurse is preparing to administer an intermittent enteral feeding through a small-bore NG tube. Which of the following actions should the nurse take before initiating the feeding?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A.<br>Flush the tube with 5 mL of water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>B.<br>Test the pH of fluid aspirated from the tube.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>C.<br>Inject air through the tubing and auscultate for gurgling sounds:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>D.<br>Change the bag and tubing system every 12 hr<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-ast-global-color-6-color\"><strong>The correct answer and Explanation is :<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The correct answer is <strong>B. Test the pH of fluid aspirated from the tube.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Explanation:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Before administering intermittent enteral feeding through a small-bore nasogastric (NG) tube, it is crucial to ensure the correct placement of the tube to prevent complications such as aspiration or feeding into the wrong part of the gastrointestinal tract. Testing the pH of fluid aspirated from the tube is a reliable method to confirm proper tube placement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Why Testing pH is Important:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Accuracy of Placement:<\/strong> Testing the pH of the aspirated fluid helps confirm that the NG tube is in the stomach. Gastric aspirate typically has a pH of 1 to 4, whereas the pH in the small intestine is usually above 6. If the aspirated fluid has a pH that suggests it is from the small intestine or the lungs, it indicates that the tube might be misplaced, and further action should be taken to correct its position.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Safety:<\/strong> Confirming tube placement before feeding ensures that the patient will receive the feeding in the correct part of the gastrointestinal tract, reducing the risk of aspiration and related complications.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Why Other Options are Less Appropriate:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>A. Flush the tube with 5 mL of water:<\/strong> While flushing the tube is part of routine care to maintain patency, it does not verify correct tube placement.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>C. Inject air through the tubing and auscultate for gurgling sounds:<\/strong> This method, known as the air bolus method, is less reliable and not as accurate as pH testing for confirming tube placement. It can also be uncomfortable for the patient.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>D. Change the bag and tubing system every 12 hr:<\/strong> This practice is related to infection control and maintaining the equipment but does not verify tube placement or readiness for feeding.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>In summary, testing the pH of aspirated fluid is the most effective and accurate method to confirm correct NG tube placement before starting an enteral feeding.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A nurse is preparing to administer an intermittent enteral feeding through a small-bore NG tube. Which of the following actions should the nurse take before initiating the feeding? A.Flush the tube with 5 mL of water. B.Test the pH of fluid aspirated from the tube. C.Inject air through the tubing and auscultate for gurgling sounds: [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-138076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-exams-certification"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138076","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=138076"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138076\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=138076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=138076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=138076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}