Oral drugs at a hospital unit: adequacy for use via enteral feeding tubes

• Published in: Revista brasileira de enfermagem Vol. 69; no. 5; p. 847
• Main Authors: Silva, Michele Fernanda Borges da, Brito, Patrícia Dias de, Guaraldo, Lusiele
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Portuguese
• Published: Brazil 01.09.2016
• Subjects: Administration, Oral; Brazil; Enteral Nutrition - adverse effects; Enteral Nutrition - nursing; Humans; Medication Errors; Pharmaceutical Preparations - administration & dosage; Pharmacy Service, Hospital - standards; Pharmacy Service, Hospital - statistics & numerical data; Quality Assurance, Health Care
• ISSN: 1984-0446
• DOI: 10.1590/0034-7167-2015-0081

to describe the profile of standardized oral drugs at a hospital unit and assess their adequacy for use via enteral feeding tubes, according to recommendations from the literature. descriptive study, with data on drugs collected from the Pharmacy Service Dispensing System. Specific recommendations for the use of these drugs via enteral feeding tubes were found after searches in literary databases, books, manuals, guidelines and package insert collections. among the 236 dispensed oral drugs, 86% were in solid form; of those, 32 were "non-crushable", with the liquid form available at the institution. Twenty-eight drugs with potential interactions with enteral nutrition were identified. Sixty percent of those presented specific recommendations on their administration via enteral feeding tube. the joint participation of multidisciplinary nutritional therapy and care teams and the implementation of programs for continuous training are suggested strategies for the prevention of potential problems in the administration of drugs in the hospital setting.