Nasogastric tube placement verification with ultrasound by emergency nurses

Aim: Nasogastric tube placement is a common procedure. Its insertion can lead to pulmonary complications, perforation, and even death. It is imperative to confirm the placement of the nasogastric tube. Ultrasound is a diagnostic method which can be used to confirm nasogastric tube placement. It has been used successfully not only by physicians but by nurses as well. We aimed to determine the skills of emergency nurses to use the ultrasound for the confirmation of nasogastric tube placement after ultrasound training. Material and Methods: This study is a single-center, prospective and single-blind study. The study was performed to evaluate the ability of emergency nurses to confirm correct nasogastric tube placement Six emergency nurses were given theoretical education and hands-on training about ultrasound. They confirmed the location of the nasogastric tube using ultrasound. Results: A total of 84 patients were included in the study. According to the radiograph, the tube was not in the stomach in two out of 84 patients. While ultrasound verified that the tube was not in the stomach for 5 patients, it detected these two patients. The sensitivity and specificity of ultrasound performed by nurses were 9634% and 100%, respectively. The area under the curve calculated for the predictive power of the nurses' ultrasound findings according to the radiography results was found to be 0.982 and statistically significant (p<,0.0001). Discussion: Ultrasound can be performed by nurses the confirmation of correct nasogastric tube placement. Additionally, ultrasound may not be able to eliminate but significantly reduce the need for radiography.