Question about G-Tubes with Mickey Button

Nurses General Nursing

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Specializes in Geriatrics.

Hello! I'm a new nurse to the home health setting and am taking care of a young patient in their twenties that has a g-tube with a mickey button. I'm not very familiar with g-tubes and was wondering if someone could answer a question for me:wink2: Is there a certain time frame that I need to wait between administering each med and is it okay to hook her feeding up between meds, she has continuous feedings? Also is it okay to administer her meds in pushing on the syringe if it is done gently? Thanks!! :nurse:

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Hello! I'm a new nurse to the home health setting and am taking care of a young patient in their twenties that has a g-tube with a mickey button. I'm not very familiar with g-tubes and was wondering if someone could answer a question for me:wink2: Is there a certain time frame that I need to wait between administering each med and is it okay to hook her feeding up between meds, she has continuous feedings? Also is it okay to administer her meds in pushing on the syringe if it is done gently? Thanks!! :nurse:

I give meds thru g-tubes with continuous feeds all the time. No waiting in between, keep the feed going (just kink it off while pushing the med). The only exception would be if it's a med that's not to be given with food, or if it's specifically supposed to be separated from other meds. An example would be sucralfate.

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Specializes in Geriatrics.

Policy at our facility is- crush each med separately and add 5-10 cc of water. administer one medication, then 5-10 cc of water, and repeat w/ other meds. Liquid meds should not be mixed because different pH can cause precipitates. (This is according to our pharmacy consultant) Also meds ideally should flow in by gravity, but we all know that is hard to do. Hope this helps.

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Specializes in Geriatrics.
Policy at our facility is- crush each med separately and add 5-10 cc of water. administer one medication, then 5-10 cc of water, and repeat w/ other meds. Liquid meds should not be mixed because different pH can cause precipitates. (This is according to our pharmacy consultant) Also meds ideally should flow in by gravity, but we all know that is hard to do. Hope this helps.

Thanks so much! This definately answered my question, I appreciate it very much!! :yeah:

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Specializes in Pediatric/Adolescent, Med-Surg.
Hello! I'm a new nurse to the home health setting and am taking care of a young patient in their twenties that has a g-tube with a mickey button. I'm not very familiar with g-tubes and was wondering if someone could answer a question for me:wink2: Is there a certain time frame that I need to wait between administering each med and is it okay to hook her feeding up between meds, she has continuous feedings? Also is it okay to administer her meds in pushing on the syringe if it is done gently? Thanks!! :nurse:

You asked if it's ok to administer med by pushing on the syringe. Yes, you can use the syringes to administer, but you should never give syringe meds straight into the Mickey button, you should instead, always hook up the adapter to the Mickey button and push the syringe meds through that. Giving the meds directly into the G-tube can be too much pressure on the G-tube and can cause damage, yet this is a common practice seen in homecare.

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The adapter should have a medicine port and a feeding port. You can put meds in the med port without having to disconnect the feeding. (provided it is ok to mix with food of course).

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Also you need to know what your pts doctor wants done should it pop out. (This happens more to babies because they stiffen their tummies when they cry; however the balloon can leak on anyone.) Check out http://www.mic-key.com for more information.

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Also is it okay to administer her meds in pushing on the syringe if it is done gently? Thanks!! :nurse:

No, no, no, no, never! Can you tell I feel strongly about this :chuckle , too many years spent dealing with the longterm consquences on too many kiddos.

You only ever gravity to a Mic-Key, a child's stomach is too small and even the smallest amount of pressure can cause erosions of the gastric mucosa. If you're having problems giving meds try using the venting/bolus extension rather than the right angle feeding extension. http://www.kchealthcare.com/docs/R12718-English.pdf

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The OP referred to a young adult.

These instructions from the manufacturer say to INJECT medication and flush with water. To me, that means push, which I have done thousands of times without problems.

http://www.kchealthcare.com/docs/R8201B%20MIC-KEY%20Care%20guide%20English.pdf

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