Sondagem enteral em crianças: a realidade de uma enfermaria de lactentes

Objective: To identify the frequency that the hospitalized infant is underwent gastric/jejunal tube and analyze the reasons that lead to the tube loss during hospitalization. Method: Quantitative study approach that had the sample of 61 infants. Data were analyzed by determining the frequency values and their 95% confidence intervals. Results: It appears that the incidence of gastric enteral tube loss is relatively high, considering that 25 infants were underwent tube reposition between two to eight times, configuring 98 tube withdrawal procedures/ loss during the study period. The main reason for the loss was accidental with 44.9%, 11.2% occurred due to unknown causes and 8.2% for obstruction. Conclusion: Data indicate the importance of frequent qualification of health professionals in order to reduce the impact and stress which occurs in the infant and his companion, during the procedure.