NG Tubes????

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Dec 8, 2007

i'm not sure if the answer is on this website, but check it out anyway:

http://www.icufaqs.org/ngtubes.doc - n/g tubes for beginners

another thing you can do is go to the various manufacturer websites and check the specifications on the various n/g tubes they manufacture for this information. bard and abbott are two of the manufactures of them. or, just do a general internet search for n/g tubes and lots of medical supplier companies will come up that supply various types of tubes and they may list the specifications on their websites.

User123456 · Dec 8, 2007

yeh how can you determine that when it depends on length of the tube and gage? hmmmm is this a trick question? :rotfl:

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Dec 9, 2007

yeh how can you determine that when it depends on length of the tube and gage? hmmmm is this a trick question? :rotfl:

actually, no, it is not. i have seen the figures on how much these tubings will hold over the years. sometimes the manufacturers publish this information in the package inserts of these things. you need to know this information when you are irrigating or aspirating what is in the tubing so you know how much might have been in the tubing and how much might have been in the patient's organ. not a trick question at all. we had to know this information for our picc lines and central iv lines as well. as a responsible nurse, you should be concerned and know about the equipment you are using. knowing how long these various tubes are and how much volume they are capable of containing within them is something you should know. this is no different than any other professional knowing the specs of the equipment they work with. your responsibility doesn't just involve cramming the tubing down the patient's throat and keeping it there. you better know what it is that your cramming down them and how it works.

suanna · Dec 9, 2007

Of all the silly things an instructor could focus on this has to be one of the most trivial. Who would care! It can't be more than 5-15 cc at most. Would you worry about that in your I&O? Is it to determine how much flush to use in passing NG meds?- Trick question- you have to flush with quite a bit- 50-100cc to ensure the meds are not sticking to the side of the tube but have been passed into the gut. I'm so glad I'm out of school! It was questions like these that made me question my instructors mental status! Hope you can find the answer to satisy your instructors fettish but I doubt you will ever need this info in practice.

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Dec 9, 2007

Of all the silly things an instructor could focus on this has to be one of the most trivial. Who would care! It can't be more than 5-15 cc at most. Would you worry about that in your I&O? Is it to determine how much flush to use in passing NG meds?- Trick question- you have to flush with quite a bit- 50-100cc to ensure the meds are not sticking to the side of the tube but have been passed into the gut. I'm so glad I'm out of school! It was questions like these that made me question my instructors mental status! Hope you can find the answer to satisy your instructors fettish but I doubt you will ever need this info in practice.

When you go to a doctor and he prescribes something for you, don't you want him to know about the things he is prescribing for you? If a contractor is putting new pipes in your house, don't you want him to know exactly why he's using one type over another and what that pipe is able to do? When you get new tires on your car, don't you question the sales person about the specs on the tires and why one brand or type would be better than another and why? Why should this standard be any different for a nurse? Why shouldn't a nurse not know what equipment they are using and how it works? Bioengioneers, some with higher college degrees than us, develop a lot of this equipment. I think we ought to be a respectful in our use of it by learning about what we are using.

FYI. . .in my BSN program we had a huge project we had to do where we were sent "shopping" for a number of commonly used items (foley catheters, trach tubes, N/G tubes, rubber gloves, dressing materials, etc.) and not only had to price them, but get manufacture specs and use manuals and materials from various manufacturers of these items. It definitely gives you more knowledge of what you are using and an appreciation of these supplies and what goes into their design and manufacture.

suanna · Dec 10, 2007

Reply to Daytonite:

I can see you are no newbie to the profession so I will give your opinion its due but to be honest I don't expect the guy at the tire shop to know the mm thickness of the plys in the tires, the plumber to know the chemical alloys in my pipes or my doctor to know the fda color code in the capsules he prescribed. My point is there is such a thing as TMI. When an instructor sends a student on a wild goose chase like this it's just confusing. There is a lot to learn in a nursing program and limited time to learn it. Having a student waste a lot of time researching to volume capacity of a gastric tube is a waste of the resources they have available. Spend that time researching why one tube or another should be used, or even the cost difference between one tube or the other but the fluid capacity?! How is a student supposed to know what is vital information and what is a game of health care trivial pursuit. This has always been a sore spot with me about the way we educate out nurses. There is no gold standard in a nursing program. Each clinical instructor can go off on thier own primrose path wheather it leads to accomplishing the goals of the rotation or not. I've known a number of instructors who went into teaching because they never had a clue about how to practice and couldn't cut in on the floor. Those who can do, those who can't teach seems far to prevelent in our profession. OOPS!? I'm ranting again- sorry.

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Dec 10, 2007

suanna. . .I happen to disagree with you. I have to know the "why" of things and I think it's important. When I'm using equipment I think it's important to understand and know what it is and as much about it as possible. To me, that's just prudent.