Subjective distress during continuous enteral alimentation: superiority of silicone rubber to polyurethane.
A small-bore feeding tube of silicone rubber was developed in order to improve the acceptance of enteral feeding. The insertion procedure was facilitated by providing a double guidewire which allows continuous adjustment of tip rigidity. The usefulness of this tube was tested in a short-term and a long-term volunteer study as well as in a prospective follow-up of patients receiving enteral nutrition. The volunteer study showed that the newly developed tube significantly reduced subjective distress (rank value 14) when compared to a conventional tube made of polyurethane (rank value 20). In the patient study, 131 silicone rubber tubes were used in 85 patients who received enteral nutrition for a total period of 2080 days and complained about foreign-body feeling and rhinorrhea in only 3.7% and 0.5% of the days, respectively. The rate of inadvertent removals was relatively low (32%), mainly due to restricted mental status of the patients.
Herrmann
M E
ME
Department of Gastroenterology, Klinikum Steglitz, Berlin, West Germany.
Liehr
R M
RM
Tanhoefner
H
H
Emde
C
C
Riecken
E O
EO
D004750:Enteral Nutrition / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D004867:Equipment Design; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008422:Materials Testing; D011140:Polyurethanes; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012826:Silicone Elastomers; D013315:Stress, Psychological
D011140:Polyurethanes; D012826:Silicone Elastomers