Fixing orogastric feeding tubes - reliability of a new technique

Partial nasal obstruction in preterm and term infants increases airway resi stance. It may reduce ventilation and cause disturbances of respiratory reg ulation. Although this is well established, nasogastric tubes are commonly used, because orogastric tubes are difficult to secure. A new technique for fixing orogastric tubes was tested in a prospective study in 11 preterm an d term infants over a 4 weeks period. There was no preterm dislocation of a n oral tube in 7 patients. The orogastric tube had to be reinserted once be fore regular change in 3 patients and only 1 patiend aged 15 weeks presente d with multiple dislocations of the tube. On the basis of a 3 days period f or regular change of the orogastric tube the reliability of this new techni que was 86,2% for all patients and 92,5% for patients below 8 weeks of age. Conclusion:The new technique for securing orogastric tubes seems to be rel iable in preterm infants before the age of 8 weeks.