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Medication administration via enteral tubes: a survey of nurses’ practices
Author(s) -
Phillips Nicole Margaret,
Endacott Ruth
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of advanced nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.948
H-Index - 155
eISSN - 1365-2648
pISSN - 0309-2402
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2011.05688.x
Subject(s) - medicine , enteral administration , acute care , nursing , feeding tube , emergency medicine , family medicine , intensive care medicine , health care , parenteral nutrition , surgery , economics , economic growth
phillips n.m. & endacott r. (2011) Medication administration via enteral tubes: a survey of nurses’ practices. Journal of Advanced Nursing 67 (12), 2586–2592. Abstract Aim. This article is a report of a study examining the practices of acute care nurses when administering medication via enteral tubes. Background. Administering medication via enteral tubes is predominantly a nursing responsibility across countries. It is important to establish what nurses actually do when giving enteral medication to inform policy and continuing education development. Method. In 2007, a survey was conducted using a random sample of acute care nurses at two large metropolitan hospitals in Melbourne, Australia. There were 181 Registered Nurses who participated in the study; 92 (50·8%) practised in intensive care units, 52 (28·7%) in surgical areas, 30 (16·6%) in medical areas and 7 (3·9%) were from combined medical–surgical areas. The questionnaire was developed by the researchers and a pilot study was conducted in August 2006 to test reliability, face validity and user‐friendliness of the tool. Results. Nurses reported using a range of methods to verify enteral tube position prior to administering enteral medication; some were unreliable methods. A majority reported administering enteric‐coated and slow or extended release forms of medication, and giving solid forms of medication when liquid form was available. Nearly all (96%) reported flushing a tube after giving medication, 28% before, and 12% always flushed between each medication. Conclusion. Enteral medication administration practices are inconsistent. Some nurses are using unsafe practices and may therefore compromise patient care.