The Use of Ultrasound in Nasogastric Tube Placement in Children Admitted to the Pediatric ICU

The Use of Ultrasound to Determine Correct Nasogastric Tube Placement in Children Admitted to the Pediatric ICU: a Pilot Study

The purpose of this study is to determine if ultrasound (US), when used by the clinician, can determine the presence of nasogastric tube (NGT) in the stomach of patients admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU).

Currently, the standard of care is to routinely obtain an X-ray (XR) after every nasogastric tube (NGT) placement in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). After obtaining informed consent and the child's assent, a short (less than 10 minutes) ultrasound (US) scan of the abdomen within 2 hours of the routine XR.

Inclusion Criteria:

• PICU patient undergoing routine NGT insertion by nursing staff

Exclusion Criteria:

• Any contraindication for US probe placement such as skin infection and abdominal wounds.
• Hemodynamically unstable patients.
• Patients for whom NGT placement will not be verified by XR, such as Ataxia Telangiectasia patients.