Efficacy of an aid (gastric tube insertion guide) for oral insertion of a gastric tube: a randomized controlled trial

PURPOSE: Insertion of a gastric tube orally may be more difficult than its insertion nasally, and thus, any aid to facilitate its insertion may be useful. Gastric tube insertion guide (Fuji Medical Corporation, Tokyo, Japan) has recently become commercially available. We felt that this device might be useful in facilitating oral insertion of a gastric tube, but there has been no formal study assessing its efficacy. The main aim of this study was to assess whether or not this “tube guide” would facilitate insertion of an orogastric tube. METHODS: As a randomized controlled clinical study, we planned to study 40 patients, to assess the hypothesis that the success rate of insertion of an orogastric tube would be higher with the use of the “tube guide” than without. Patients were recruited when they were 20 years old, or older, and allocated randomly to one of two groups (20 people each group). In one group, the conventional “blind” insertion method was used and in the other group the “tube guide” insertion method. RESULTS: The success rate was significantly higher for the “tube guide” method than the “blind” insertion method (P = 0.0012, 95% CI for difference: 23–67%). CONCLUSION: We have shown that the use of the gastric tube insertion guide® facilitates insertion of an orogastric tube.