PATIENT SAFETY NOTIFICATION: NASOGASTRIC TUBE MISPLACEMENT
July 6th, 2022
PATIENT SAFETY NOTIFICATION: NASOGASTRIC TUBE MISPLACEMENT AND ADVICE FOR ENHANCING MANAGEMENT OF NASOGASTRIC TUBE PLACEMENT
Nasogastric (NG) tubes are used to provide liquid nutrition, fluid and medication to patients who require short-term nutritional support. They can also be used for the removal of gastric contents. NG tube placement is common practice and many are placed daily without incident. There is, however, a risk that the tube can be placed in the lungs in error during insertion or dislodge from the stomach at a later stage. This has the potential for serious consequences for the service user. The Clinical Risk Unit (State Claims Agency, Department of Health) has noted a small number of incidents related to misplacement of NG tubes reported on the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and has prepared the following advice. More information on this link, including Advice for Safe Practice on page 2, here. If you have any queries in relation to this Patient Safety Notification, please contact the Clinical Risk Unit on stateclaims@ntma.ie.
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