IUPUI is Indiana's premier urban research university. The campus enrolls more than 30,000 students in 21 schools and academic units.
Marsha Ellett
Associate Professor
Family Health
mlellett@iupui.edu
Gastric Tube Placement in Young Children
A tube passed through the nose or mouth of children (often infants and premature infants) are frequently used as a short-term solution when the child is too ill to eat orally or the infant is too immature to suck from the breast or bottle. Our research team is testing various methods of predicting the distance to insert the tube that will determine the best method to accurately place the tube in the stomach of children of various ages and sizes. Once the tube has been placed, we are testing three methods of determining the internal location of the tube to find the method or combination of methods that most accurately identifies when the tube is and is not located in the stomach. Our goal is to keep children requiring tubes for feeding safe. Based on the evidence generated from preliminary research leading up to the current study, I have consulted with various nurses in Indiana, other states, and internationally who are revising their policies and procedures around tube feeding based on the available evidence. I have consulted with nurses from Clarian and St. Vincent's Hospital in Indianapolis, Parkview Hospital in Ft. Wayne, and Columbus Regional Hospital. I have also consulted with nurses from Cincinnati Children's Hospital, Texas Children's Hospital, Children's Hospital at Darmouth, and Changhi General Hospital in Singapore.
