Tube feeding

As tube feeding or tube feedings a is food denotes that less liquid and so viscosity is that they have a feeding tube can be administered. It is a completely balanced diet for enteral nutrition , which is administered by means of a probe and transfer system by gravity or a pump system . Colloquially, tube or sip food is sometimes referred to as astronaut food , but it does not correspond to astronaut food - a solid special food for space travelers .

Tube feeding is often necessary when a patient is unable to swallow sufficient amounts of food or liquid because, for example, there is a disorder of the upper digestive tract or a neurological disease.

Types of tube feeding

There are numerous industrially manufactured tube feeds that are commercially available. At European level, they are regulated as “Dietetic foods for special medical purposes” via Directive 1999/21 / EC of the EU Commission, and in Germany via the Diet Ordinance .

The standard foods cover the entire human requirement for carbohydrates , fats , proteins , vitamins and trace elements and also contain fiber. A normocaloric standard food has about 1.0 to 1.2 kcal / mL with a water content of 80% to 85%. A higher energy density is a high-calorie standard food with a lower water content of 64% to 77%, which must be taken into account in a liquid balance.

In addition, there are numerous special foods, e.g. B. Products that are fiber-free or suitable for diabetics . There are also special tube feedings for children. Unlike sip feed, tube feed is usually tasteless. Standard foods and also some disease-specific foods belong to the high molecular diets that require a largely functioning digestive tract . In the case of intolerance to standard tube feed and digestive disorders , a low molecular weight diet may be indicated, which contains proteins dissolved in peptides and medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) in the fat content .

Administration of tube feeding

→ Main article : Artificial nutrition

When administering via a gravity system, the tube feeding container (bottle or bag) is attached above the stomach level - for example to an infusion stand - so that the food flows by gravity through the tube system and tube into the gastrointestinal tract. The flow of food can be regulated via a regulator on the hose system. In the event that the patient is fed via a jejunal tube , there is an indication for the use of a feeding pump.

Tube feedings must not be mixed with medicinal products, otherwise they may flocculate and clog the tube.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Press release of the Federal Joint Committee: Whoever needs tube feeding gets it too. dated April 20, 2005 Retrieved March 23, 2018
2. ↑ L. Valentini et al .: Guideline of the German Society for Nutritional Medicine (DGEM) - DGEM terminology in clinical nutrition. 2013; P. 106 ; accessed on January 8, 2019
3. ↑ L. Valentini et al .: Guideline of the German Society for Nutritional Medicine (DGEM) - DGEM terminology in clinical nutrition. 2013; P. 108 ; accessed on January 8, 2019
4. ^ Richter-Kuhlmann, E .: Tube feeding: Guideline stopped , Dtsch Arztebl 2005; 102 (17): A-1170, online here .
5. ↑ L. Valentini et al .: Guideline of the German Society for Nutritional Medicine (DGEM) - DGEM terminology in clinical nutrition. 2013; Pp. 107-108 ; accessed on January 8, 2019
6. ^ Lektorat Pflege, Nicole Menche (Ed.): Pflege Today. Urban & Fischer in Elsevier, Munich 2013, pp. 413–414

This article is about a health issue. It is not used for self-diagnosis and does not replace a diagnosis by a doctor. Please note the information on health issues !