Abstract
Enteral gastric feeding tubes are widely used in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit populations. These feeding tubes are necessary to promote appropriate growth and nutrition in both premature and term infants. Despite their frequent use, there is not a standardized method for placement measurement. This places neonates at risk for severe complications if the enteral gastric tube is placed improperly. To ensure safe gastric tubes in patients at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital, the method of measurement of enteral gastric feeding tubes needed to be updated according to the latest research evidence. The theoretical framework used for this project was created by Rosswurm and Larabee (1999). This framework guided the methods utilized to implement a practice change. The Age-Related-Height-Based (ARHB) method was implemented as a double check to the Nose-Ear-Mid-Umbilicus (NEMU) measurement method. After implementation of this double check for enteral tube placement, there was overall improvement in the number of enteral gastric tubes that were accurately placed compared to pre-implementation data.