Clinical Unit of Neurology, Department of Medicine, Surgery and Health Sciences, University Hospital and Health Services of Trieste-ASUGI, University of Trieste, Strada di Fiume, 447, 34149 Trieste, Italy.
Sensors (Basel). 2022 Oct 20;22(20):8029. doi: 10.3390/s22208029.
Enteral nutrition is often prescribed in acute stroke to meet energy and fluid needs in patients with dysphagia. Tubes clogging represent a common complication of enteral formula delivery, requiring substitution and influencing nutrition administration. Frequent water flushes are recommended as one of the most effective procedures to prevent tube occlusion, but it might be time demanding and not consistently performed by the healthcare staff. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of an automatic flush pump, compared to a manual flush system, to prevent tubes' occlusions in acute-stroke patients, as this might affect nutrition and hydration.
Gastrointestinal symptoms, nutrition and hydration biomarkers were also monitored to determine the different devices' safety. Sixty-two patients were included in the study and allocated to the "manual" or "automatic" flushes device.
The mean duration of data collection was 7 ± 2 days. Tube occlusions occurred in 22.6% of the patients in the "manual" group, whereas only one tube clogging was reported in the "automatic" group ( = 0.023). No significant differences between groups were reported for constipation and diarrhea frequency nor nutrition and hydration status. When the nurses were asked to simulate manual flush administration at the same frequency of the automatic device, they were able to meet the recommendations only 10% of the time.
This preliminary study suggests the efficacy of automatic flush systems to prevent enteral tube clogging, without affecting health status compared to standard manual flush systems.
在急性脑卒中患者中，常规定制肠内营养以满足吞咽困难患者的能量和液体需求。管腔堵塞是肠内配方输送的常见并发症，需要更换并影响营养管理。频繁的水冲洗被推荐为预防管腔堵塞的最有效程序之一，但可能需要时间，并且医护人员并非始终执行。本研究旨在评估自动冲洗泵与手动冲洗系统相比，在预防急性脑卒中患者管腔堵塞方面的效果，因为这可能会影响营养和水合作用。
还监测了胃肠道症状和营养及水合生物标志物，以确定两种设备的安全性。将 62 名患者纳入研究，并分配到“手动”或“自动”冲洗设备组。
数据收集的平均持续时间为 7 ± 2 天。在“手动”组中，有 22.6%的患者发生管腔堵塞，而在“自动”组中仅报告了 1 例管腔堵塞（= 0.023）。两组间便秘和腹泻频率以及营养和水合状态均无显著差异。当护士被要求以与自动设备相同的频率模拟手动冲洗管理时，他们只能在 10%的时间内达到推荐要求。
这项初步研究表明，自动冲洗系统在预防肠内管腔堵塞方面的有效性，与标准手动冲洗系统相比，不会影响健康状况。
