Background: Nasal bridle securement devices were introduced to our adult intensive care unit (ICU) in October 2016 as an alternative for securing small-bore feeding tubes in patients at higher risk of inadvertent tube dislodgement.
Method: We assessed high-risk ICU patients from October 2014 to March 2019 to address three objectives. First, we prospectively monitored ICU patients with a nasal bridle for all types of adverse events. Second, we used propensity score methods to create a (1:1) matched historical comparison group (ie, tape group). We then compared the number of inadvertent tube dislodgements and the caloric intake between the tape and nasal bridle groups.
Results: In the prospective group (n = 64), there were 20 adverse events, 12 of which were inadvertent tube dislodgements. Forty-eight participants in the nasal bridle group were matched with participants in the historical group. Thirty-five percent (17/48) of patients in the tape group had at least one inadvertent tube dislodgement; in the nasal bridle group, 48% (23/48) had at least one inadvertent tube dislodgement, although this only occurred in 7 of 48 (15%) patients after the nasal bridle had been inserted. The tape group achieved a lower median percentage of total caloric intake received (66.0%) compared with that of the nasal bridle group (86.1%; P = 0.017).
Conclusions: In the subpopulation of ICU patients with a small-bore feeding tube who demonstrate a higher risk of inadvertent tube dislodgement, use of the nasal bridle may be associated with a higher caloric intake, even though it does not completely prevent tube dislodgement.
Keywords: enteral nutrition; feeding tubes; nasal bridle; patient safety.
© 2022 American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition.