Malposition of feeding tubes in neonates: is it an issue?

OBJECTIVES: Accurate tube placement of orogastric and nasogastric feeding tubes in neonates is important to ensure safe and effective enteral feeding. Errors in placement and position of feeding tubes are described in literature, but there is little evidence of the exact prevalence of improperly placed tubes, especially in neonates. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To evaluate the prevalence of improperly placed feeding tubes, we reviewed 381 consecutive radiographs and defined the position of the feeding tubes. RESULTS: We found that in 41% of the placements, the optimal position of the feeding tubes was achieved, whereas overall 59% of the feeding tubes had been placed incorrectly. CONCLUSIONS: There is a need for both better rules to measure the distance between nose (lips) and the body of the stomach and improved methods to confirm correct tube position in neonates.

Shared or discordant grief in couples 2-6 years after the death of their premature baby: effects on suffering and posttraumatic growth.

BACKGROUND: The loss of a baby causes severe short- and long-term distress to parents and their marital relationship, but little is known about how this distress is shared between spouses. The authors hypothesized that the grief-related concordance within a couple 2 to 6 years after the loss of a premature baby could be an indicator of shared emotional distress within a couple. OBJECTIVE: The authors investigated the long-term grief experience among couples. METHOD: A group of 44 parents (22 couples) were assessed by questionnaire regarding grief, suffering, posttraumatic growth, and affective symptoms, and semistructured interviews with 6 couples added qualitative information about processes within couples. RESULTS: The extent of grief concordance was found to be related to different patterns of suffering and posttraumatic growth within couples. CONCLUSION: The emotional exchange between partners after the loss of the child appears to be crucial for a process of concordant grief, which in turn is associated with a more synchronous process of individual posttraumatic growth.