18 fr salem sump up the nose?!

[hopefullICUnurse77]

I was recently in the back of an ambulance and the medic asked me to prepare a tube so that we could remove the gastric contents of a man who had already been vomiting. He was found unresponsive, with a camelbak full of liquor and a pocket full of soma. I measured the tube marked it and lubed it, then he tried to put it in the guys nose! Am i mistaken in thinking that a salem sump tube is an orogastric tube, not nasogastric?

[cherrybreeze, ADN, RN]

We always use salem sumps for NG's, USUALLY 16's but sometimes 18's. Depends on the drainage. They'll usually place the larger ones in OR, though. Several docs have a protocol for scheduled irrigation, so they work the best for that, for sure.

[CABG patch kid, BSN, RN]

Like others here, we always use salems in our hospital for NGs and OGs (honestly haven't seen anything else since I started a year ago). As far as size, we'll use a 16 for the nares and 18 for oral, as most of our people are just getting it for med and feeding access while they are intubated or if they need LIS for a bowel obstruction; in other words, don't get too many GI bleeds or ODs in the CCU, they probably get more in the ICU :)