title: Intermittent oro-esophageal tube feeding in acute stroke patients -- a pilot study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Acute stroke patients with dysphagia are usually fed by nasogastric tube. However, this method sometimes causes pneumonia or diarrhea. We investigated the use of a new feeding procedure called intermittent oro-esophageal (IOE) tube feeding in acute stroke patients with severe dysphagia.
  
  
  METHODS
  The IOE method was used in 13 acute stroke patients (68 +/- 14 years old; 12 had a brainstem infarction), who were alert, but had severe dysphagia and a weak pharyngeal reflex. IOE tube feeding was carried out as follows. A feeding tube was passed orally into the lower portion of the esophagus, food supplements were administered through the tube at a rate of approximately 50 ml/min, and the tube was removed after finishing the supplement infusion.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found that the IOE method had the following advantages: (i) IOE feeding took approximately 15 min; (ii) potentially reduced a risk of complications such as pneumonia and diarrhea; and (iii) oral tube insertion stimulated the oral cavity and pharynx, which may improve the swallowing function. However, the IOE feeding method should not be used in patients who: (i) could not understand the IOE procedure; (ii) had an esophageal hiatal hernia or incomplete peristalsis of the esophagus, as such patients are at risk of having the supplement reflux into the oral cavity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The IOE feeding method may be one of the alternatives to continuous nasogastric tube feeding in acute stroke patients with severe dysphagia, who are alert.
authors.affiliation: Cerebrovascular Division, Department of Medicine, National Cardiovascular Center, Osaka, Japan. rosainakazima@ybb.ne.jp
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nakajima
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Inatomi
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Terasaki
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nagano
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yonehara
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Uchino
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Minematsu
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003243:Consciousness; D003680:Deglutition Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D004750:Enteral Nutrition / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D004947:Esophagus; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009055:Mouth; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*