Welcome to the Nasogastric Tube Position on Chest X-ray package, developed in collaboration with the British Society of Gastrointestinal and Abdominal Radiology (BSGAR), the Royal College of Radiologists (RCR), the Society of Radiographers (SOR) and the British Association for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (BAPEN).
This resource is designed to help healthcare professionals improve their skills in accurately identifying nasogastric tube placement, which is critical for ensuring patient safety and avoiding never events.
47% of nasogastric tube never-events involve misinterpreted X-rays1
NHS Improvement classifies feeding through a misplaced nasogastric (NG) tube as a "never-event"2, and this is a subject of an ongoing patient safety alert3. X-ray confirmation of nasogastric tube placement is thought to be the most accurate method if a standard process is consistently followed. However, incorrect x-ray confirmation and interpretation is the most common cause of NG tube incidents. Research has shown that expected targets for competence in reporting of nasogastric tube position are not being met and require improvement4.
In their December 2020 report, the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) recommends that feeding tube X-rays be interpreted only by staff who have undergone competency training5. This content has been developed in response to the recommendations of the HSIB report.
Our curated collection of cases provides a real-world study list of nasogastric tube insertion chest X-rays, requiring reporters to review each X-ray before marking the position of the feeding tube and determining whether or not it's safe to feed the patient. This package focuses on the assessment of nasogastric tube position in adults (please adhere to your local policies regarding assessment in paediatric patients).
Upon completion of our nasogastric tube modules, reporting statistics are calculated, and certificates can be downloaded or shared so as to show competence in interpretation of nasogastric tube X-rays.
Key benefits:
- Learn how to assess the safe positioning of nasogastric tubes on chest X-ray
- Hone your skills in a safe yet realistic simulated environment
- Test and evidence your ability with dedicated assessment cases
- Earn CPD points at your own pace
References
- Analyses of the Cause of Misplaced Nasogastric Tube Never Events
- NHS Improvement Never Events policy and framework
- NHS Improvement: Patient Safety Alert: Nasogastric tube misplacement: continuing risk of death and severe harm.
- Chest X-ray Confirmation of Nasogastric Tube Placement: Radiographer Responsibility
- Placement of nasogastric tubes. Independent report by Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch
This package includes the following modules:
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NG Tube CXR - Background
Why change? The current nasogastric tube pathway and why a new imaging pathway is required.
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NG Tube CXR - Image Acquisition
How to produce a good nasogastric tube X-ray.
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1
NG Tube CXR - Image Assessment
Learn how to differentiate between correctly and incorrectly positioned nasogastric tubes.
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1
30
NG Tube CXR - Training cases
Practise on a series of real-world cases to determine correct positioning of nasogastric tubes, receiving immediate feedback for each case.
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1
30
2h
NG Tube CXR - Assessment cases
A collection of chest X-rays to test your skills at spotting correct or incorrect NG tube positioning, with your overall accuracy calculated upon module completion.
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Package Summary
- Nasogastric Tube Position on Chest X-ray
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Created 9 April, 2024
Last updated 18 September, 2024 -
Module types included:
- Educational content 3
- Training 1
- Assessment 1
- Training and assessment cases 60
- CPD points available 3
