Care given to newborns fed by gastric tube: Concepts and practices

Abstract

Objective: to describe the conduct related to feeding care through gastric tube in neonates hospitalized in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, from scientific articles published in the last five years. Method: an integrative literature review was developed in the databases: MEDLINE, LILACS, SciELO, CINAHL and BDENF. The search for the studies was carried out in August 2016, in English, Spanish and Portuguese. Results: 33 articles were analyzed. The level of evidence was classified as level IV (30%), level VI (27%), level II (15%), level III (18%), level I, V and VII with 3% each. The analytical categories were: Gastric tubes, their materials and their use in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Nursing care for enteral nutrition through gastric tube in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, From the tube the oral route. The time to reach total enteral nutrition is lower, as is the decrease in length of hospital stay. The largest losses of milk fat are during gastroclysis at the expense of gavage. The relationship of food tolerance to dietary dosage form and volumes is not yet conclusive. Nursing stands out: in favor of the bond with the family, in the physical examination and evaluation, in the positioning, in the non-nutritive suction during the diet, in the oral stimulus, in the observation and conduct regarding the gastric residue. Conclusion: due to the heterogeneity of the data, more randomized and qualitative clinical trials are required to better support the conduct and improvement of nursing care.