The Use of Ultrasonography for Verifying Gastric Tube Placement in Newborns.

BACKGROUND

The use of gastric tubes in newborns admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit is fairly high, and there is a risk of serious complications related to this procedure.

PURPOSE: Considering the need to find a method that does not involve the patient's exposure to radiation, this study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasonography for verifying gastric tube placement in newborns.

METHODS

This was a prospective, double-blind, observational study performed in a neonatal intensive care unit, in which 159 infants had gastric intubation using ultrasound examination and radiological imaging, to verify positioning. Results were analyzed in terms of diagnostic accuracy.

RESULTS

The tubes were correctly positioned in 157 cases (98.7%), according to radiological images, and in 156 cases (98.1%), according to ultrasound. The sensitivity analysis was 0.98 and the positive predictive value was 0.99. It was not possible to perform a specificity analysis, as there were not enough negative cases in the sample.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The use of ultrasonography to identify correct positioning of gastric tubes in infants and newborns shows good sensitivity.

IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH: It was not possible to evaluate the ultrasonography specificity; further studies with greater samples are probably necessary, so that this objective can be achieved.Video Abstract available at https://journals.lww.com/advancesinneonatalcare/Pages/videogallery.aspx?videoId=29&autoPlay=true.