g tube machine question

Published Jun 28, 2011

6 Posts

Hey,

So i guess i should change my screen name,..but first things first. So,...i had a patient that had continuous

tube feed running at 45 cc/hr. When i began my shift i was happy to see that the prior nurse had hung a

new bottle of tube feed (one less task to do :-) ).

I did all my checks, my assessments, vital signs, etc. and heard the tube feed mahine stop. I put on hold

and put back to run. It ran again with it's little hamster wheel, like churning butter,...the tube feed was

running again. I was finishing up again and it stopped again. NO alarm went off.

After changing the tubing, then changing the tube feed bottle, the machine (yes i did all of this).,...i

told one nurse what i had done and she laughed....she said that because of the rate being slow

that it won't run continuously making it look like there is something wrong but that it is still infact running

at the correct rate.

Can anyone confirm this? Have i missed something by what she explained? Anything to add to this?

38,333 Posts

Jun 28, 2011

To confirm what she said, you need to take a few minutes to observe it.

34 Posts

Jun 28, 2011

next time watch the machine for a few minutes.

this video might help you understand:

pay close attention at time markers 4:00, 7:45, and 10:00