ABSTRACT
The insertion of a gastric tube in the operating room (OR) or in an intensive care unit (ICU) is a routine procedure. Although the tube is often inserted by nursing staff, the indications and selection of the procedure for position control remain the physician's responsibility. For immediate position control, the injection of air through the inserted tube with simultaneous auscultation of the epigastrium is probably the most simple and common clinical method. A typical "bubbling" is often regarded as a sufficiently reliable sign of correct gastric tube position. This procedure can be described as a routine standard both in the OR and the ICU; however, numerous examples from clinical practice and quality reviews show gastric tube mispositioning in esophageal, bronchial, pulmonary or even pleural positions in individual cases. Since auscultation findings are misinterpreted as tracheal, bronchial, or pleural secretions, mispositioning may remain undetected. In addition, adequate documentation of the procedure is lacking. In the worst case, hyperosmolar tube feeding occurs via the malpositioned tube into the lungs or pleural space causing subsequent severe pneumonia or pleuritis, which is often fatal for the patient outcome. In contrast to many other similar procedures in intensive care medicine, such as the installation of central venous catheters or endotracheal intubation, to our knowledge there is no uniform standard for forensic verification of the correct position after gastric tube positioning. The present work provides an overview of existing practices and the scientific background for confirmation of gastric tube positioning without ionizing radiation.
Subject(s)
Critical Care , Enteral Nutrition , Humans , Critical Care/methods , Intensive Care Units , Esophagus , ThoraxABSTRACT
A esofagite eosinofílica (EoE) é uma doença inflamatória, crônica e recidivante do esôfago, caracterizada por inflamação com predomínio de eosinófilos e sintomas de disfunção esofágica. A doença, que representa a principal causa de disfagia crônica em crianças, jovens e adultos, compartilha intrínseca correlação com alergias, tanto em sua fisiopatologia, quanto em dados epidemiológicos e, recentemente, foi considerada uma manifestação tardia da marcha atópica em alguns indivíduos. O presente trabalho objetiva ampliar o conhecimento acerca da doença, visto que a EoE é uma patologia relativamente nova na história da medicina, e seu diagnóstico depende de elevada suspeição clínica. Além disso, por ser uma entidade com elevado potencial de causar impacto na qualidade de vida e repercussões fisiológicas, psicológicas e sociais para os pacientes, a suspeição e reconhecimento precoce da doença é essencial para que se institua a terapêutica adequada e obtenha-se controle sobre a progressão da doença.
Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is an inflammatory, chronic, and recurrent esophageal disease characterized by inflammation with predominance of eosinophils and symptoms of esophageal dysfunction. The disease, which is the main cause of chronic dysphagia in children, young people, and adults, shares an intrinsic correlation with allergies, both in pathophysiology and in epidemiological data, and it was recently considered a late manifestation of the atopic march in some people. The present study aims to expand the knowledge about the disease, as EoE is a relatively new condition in the history of medicine and its diagnosis depends on high clinical suspicion. In addition, because EoE is an entity with a high potential to impact quality of life and cause physiological, psychological, and social repercussions for patients, suspicion and early recognition of the disease are essential for implementing an appropriate therapy and obtaining control over disease progression.
