title: Reducing bacterial contamination in enteral tube feeds.
abstract: It is well known that enteral tube feeds may become contaminated with bacteria and other microorganisms during preparation and administration and that this may lead to the development of infectious complications in patients. This article describes potential sources and routes of microbial contamination of these feeds and suggests procedures that can be implemented to reduce the risk of contamination.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Anderton
mesh_terms: D004750:Enteral Nutrition / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000451:nursing; D004866:Equipment Contamination / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005516:Food Microbiology; D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control / Q000379:methods*