OPTIMIZING DRUG DELIVERY VIA NASOGASTRIC TUBE: CHALLENGES, RISKS AND CLINICAL STRATEGIES

Abstract:
Enteral nutrition is an essential method for administering food and drugs to critically
sick patients who experience swallowing difficulties due to anatomical defects, chronic diseases or
neurological disorders. Nasogastric tubes (NGT) are often used to short term feeding and drug
administration in hospitalized patients. Not all medications are appropriate for nasogastric feeding
tube administration as crushing certain solid dosage forms could result in complications like NGT
obstruction, adverse drug events, altered absorption, drug incompatibility, decreased therapeutic
efficacy or even toxicity. This review explores the major challenges corelated with NGT drug
administration, emphasizing risks related to drug stability, bioavailability and interactions with
enteral nutrition. Furthermore, it outlines clinical strategies to optimize drug delivery, selection of
drug, formulation modification, and evidence based administration techniques to minimize
complication. By implementing
Keywords
standardized protocol to NGT drug administration can enhance
patient efficacy, minimize medication errors and improve patient safety in clinical practice.
:
Nasogastric tube, appropriate dosage forms, clinical strategies, standardized protocol.