The Utilization of Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) for the Confirmation of Gastric and Post-Pyloric Feeding Tube Placement in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of point of care ultrasound (POCUS) as an alternative imaging modality to confirm the location of gastric and post-pyloric feeding tubes in patients admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). This was a prospective descriptive study perfo...

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Main Authors: Alonso Marron, Michael Wolf, Marla Levine, Jeremy Boyd, Marta Hernanz-Schulman
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: CINQUILL Medical Publishers Inc. 2025-04-01
Series:POCUS Journal
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Online Access:https://ojs.library.queensu.ca/index.php/pocus/article/view/17785
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author Alonso Marron
Michael Wolf
Marla Levine
Jeremy Boyd
Marta Hernanz-Schulman
author_facet Alonso Marron
Michael Wolf
Marla Levine
Jeremy Boyd
Marta Hernanz-Schulman
author_sort Alonso Marron
collection DOAJ
description The aim of this study was to investigate the role of point of care ultrasound (POCUS) as an alternative imaging modality to confirm the location of gastric and post-pyloric feeding tubes in patients admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). This was a prospective descriptive study performed at a tertiary care children’s hospital. Patients from birth to 17 years of age in whom the medical team placed a temporary enteral feeding tube were eligible for enrollment. The study physician, who was blinded to the radiographic findings, performed a POCUS study of the abdomen. An abdominal radiograph was obtained to confirm the placement in all patients. A total of 13 patients were enrolled, and 14 abdominal POCUS exams were completed. POCUS accurately identified the location of the enteral feeding tube in 10 of the 14 cases. POCUS had a sensitivity and specificity of 85.7% and 57.1%, respectively, in identifying gastric tubes. It had a sensitivity and specificity of 66.7% and 87.5%, respectively, in identifying post-pyloric tubes. No adverse events were reported. This study showed that POCUS had moderate sensitivity and specificity and was, overall, safe. Further studies can assess the level of training needed for improvement in accuracy, and larger studies can help support the findings of this data that POCUS is a safe and accurate alternative to radiographs for enteral feeding tube placement confirmation.
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spelling doaj-art-0000466ee74244e28fb592338fefd6de2025-08-20T03:10:18ZengCINQUILL Medical Publishers Inc.POCUS Journal2369-85432025-04-01100110.24908/pocusj.v10i01.17785The Utilization of Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) for the Confirmation of Gastric and Post-Pyloric Feeding Tube Placement in a Pediatric Intensive Care UnitAlonso Marron0Michael Wolfhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-1681-0353Marla LevineJeremy Boydhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-2984-4624Marta Hernanz-SchulmanVanderbilt University Medical Center Division of Pediatric Critical Care The aim of this study was to investigate the role of point of care ultrasound (POCUS) as an alternative imaging modality to confirm the location of gastric and post-pyloric feeding tubes in patients admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). This was a prospective descriptive study performed at a tertiary care children’s hospital. Patients from birth to 17 years of age in whom the medical team placed a temporary enteral feeding tube were eligible for enrollment. The study physician, who was blinded to the radiographic findings, performed a POCUS study of the abdomen. An abdominal radiograph was obtained to confirm the placement in all patients. A total of 13 patients were enrolled, and 14 abdominal POCUS exams were completed. POCUS accurately identified the location of the enteral feeding tube in 10 of the 14 cases. POCUS had a sensitivity and specificity of 85.7% and 57.1%, respectively, in identifying gastric tubes. It had a sensitivity and specificity of 66.7% and 87.5%, respectively, in identifying post-pyloric tubes. No adverse events were reported. This study showed that POCUS had moderate sensitivity and specificity and was, overall, safe. Further studies can assess the level of training needed for improvement in accuracy, and larger studies can help support the findings of this data that POCUS is a safe and accurate alternative to radiographs for enteral feeding tube placement confirmation. https://ojs.library.queensu.ca/index.php/pocus/article/view/17785PediatricPICUPoint of care ultrasound (POCUS)Abdominal point-of-care ultrasoundenteral feeding tubes
spellingShingle Alonso Marron
Michael Wolf
Marla Levine
Jeremy Boyd
Marta Hernanz-Schulman
The Utilization of Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) for the Confirmation of Gastric and Post-Pyloric Feeding Tube Placement in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit
POCUS Journal
Pediatric
PICU
Point of care ultrasound (POCUS)
Abdominal point-of-care ultrasound
enteral feeding tubes
title The Utilization of Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) for the Confirmation of Gastric and Post-Pyloric Feeding Tube Placement in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit
title_full The Utilization of Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) for the Confirmation of Gastric and Post-Pyloric Feeding Tube Placement in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit
title_fullStr The Utilization of Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) for the Confirmation of Gastric and Post-Pyloric Feeding Tube Placement in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit
title_full_unstemmed The Utilization of Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) for the Confirmation of Gastric and Post-Pyloric Feeding Tube Placement in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit
title_short The Utilization of Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) for the Confirmation of Gastric and Post-Pyloric Feeding Tube Placement in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit
title_sort utilization of point of care ultrasound pocus for the confirmation of gastric and post pyloric feeding tube placement in a pediatric intensive care unit
topic Pediatric
PICU
Point of care ultrasound (POCUS)
Abdominal point-of-care ultrasound
enteral feeding tubes
url https://ojs.library.queensu.ca/index.php/pocus/article/view/17785
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