Nutrition on ICU

Nutrition – When a patient is connected to the ventilator or breathing machine with a breathing tube in their mouths, they will not be able to eat and drink. Being critically ill can increase the bodies need for energy and protein, so its important to give them food or nutrition in a different way. The most common way to feed patients in ICU is with liquid food through a feeding tube.

A nasogastric tube (NGT) is a narrow tube that is placed through the nose into the stomach. It is the most common type of feeding tube used in the ICU. It is used to give fluids, medications, and liquid food or nutrition.  This method of feeding is often called tube feeding. NG feeding or enteral feeding.  The tube can also be used to drain the stomach contents, if needed. The position of the tube needs to be checked by x-ray or by pH testing every day to make sure it’s in the right place

A nasojejunal tube (NJT) is a similar tube to a nasogastric tube but the tip of the tube is positioned goes through the stomach and ends up in the jejunum, a part of the small intestine. These are used if the patient is having trouble tolerating the liquid food in their stomach for example being sick or having severe tummy pain.

Gastrostomy tube – these tubes can also be called a PEG or a RIG depending on if they were put in with an endoscope (percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy PEG) or in radiology (radiological inserted gastrostomy RIG).  Either way, the feeding tube is inserted through the skin of the abdomen leading into the stomach. They are used for patients who need tube feeding for longer period.

Parenteral Nutrition (PN) is a method of providing food (nutrition) directly into the bloodstream through a drip into a vein. It is used in those who’s gut is not working properly or needs resting (after an operation for example).