Delivery of food into the gastrointestinal tract
Enteral tube feeding is the delivery of a food into the gastrointestinal tract through a feeding tube.
It may be required due to malabsorption, poor bowel function or high nutritional requirements e.g. after stroke, short bowel syndrome, cancer, cystic fibrosis, inflammatory bowel disease.
FEEDING REGIMENS
Depending on the patient’s needs
Patients can be fed through a tube for a short period of time e.g. through a nasogastric tube (NG) or for life in some conditions e.g. through percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG).
Feeding regimens also vary depending on the patient’s needs and this affects the foods, regimens and delivery systems used – sterile, with compatible packs to fit into feeding sets.
