Background
One in ten infants in the United States is born prematurely, and many rely on nasogastric (NG) tubes to receive medication and enteral nutrition. However, neonatal nasogastric tube insertion is a blind procedure, and tube misplacement has been reported in up to 59% of cases, leading to serious complications such as aspiration, perforation, and mortality.
Problem
Current confirmation methods, X-ray and gastric pH testing, also present significant limitations. Chest radiography, the current clinical gold standard, exposes infants to ionizing radiation and can further delay timely care. Gastric pH testing may also be unreliable in neonates due to limited aspirate volumes and the effects of acid-suppressive medications.
