A beginner’s guide to understanding how enteral nutrient work
Enteral nutrition is a type of nutritional therapy that provides nutrients directly into the small intestine. The use of this form of treatment has been shown to promote weight gain and reduce complications in people with certain medical conditions such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis.
What Is Enteral Nutrition Therapy?
Enteral Nutrition Therapy is a type of nutritional therapy that provides nutrients directly into the small intestine via a feeding tube. This is done for people with certain medical conditions such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis. Enteral nutrition has been shown to promote weight gain, improve nutritional status and reduce complications in those who have these diseases.
The different phases of enteral therapy can be a bit confusing at first. The staff will monitor your condition and progress often to help you through the steps smoothly.
Phases of Enteral Nutrition Therapy
The four phases of enteral nutrition therapy are as follows:
Nasoenteric Feedings Tubes: A nasoenteric feeding tube is a long, thin tube that is inserted through the nose and threaded down to the stomach. This type of enteral feeding has been shown to provide the quickest results due to its direct route from the body’s intake of food to entering nutrients into the bloodstream.
Gastrostomy Feeding: This type of tube is inserted into the stomach via a surgical incision in the abdomen. In some cases, the tube may be placed through an incision in the side of the chest. A gastrostomy feeding is typically used for people who have swallowing difficulties, such as those with esophageal dysphagia or Parkinson’s disease.
Jejunostomy Feeding: A jejunostomy tube is inserted into the small intestine via an incision in the abdomen. This type of feeding is used to provide long-term relief for chronic conditions, such as cystic fibrosis.
A gastrojejunostomy tube is inserted into both the stomach and the jejunum via a surgical incision in the abdomen. This type of tube is used to supply nutritionscam.
Gastrostomy with Jejunal Adapter: This type of feeding tube is inserted into the stomach via a surgical incision in the abdomen. A jejunal adapter with a lumen for infusion is then attached to the tube. This device is used to infuse nutrients directly into the jejunum via gravity flow, which allows for the complete absorption of nutrients without using the patient’s digestive system.
Benefits of Enteral Nutrition
Many benefits can be derived from enteral nutrition:
Weight gain
Some people need extra calories to help them regain lost body weight or to keep up with the demands of an active lifestyle.
Prevention of malnutrition
Malnutrition is a condition that occurs over time and is characterized by the loss of body weight and lean muscle.
Speeding up of healing
Enteral nutrition is often used to help speed up the body’s ability to heal itself by providing it with needed nutrients for healthy tissue growth and function.
Enteral nutrition is parenteral nutrition
In some cases, inadequate dietary intake may lead to the use of enteral or TPN (total parenteral nutrition) for nutritional supplementation and prevention of malnutrition.
Conclusion
Enteral nutrition is a type of nutritional therapy that provides nutrients directly into the small intestine via a feeding tube. This form of treatment has been shown to promote weight gain and reduce complications in people with certain medical conditions such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis. The use of enteral nutrition can also be used for patients who are too ill to eat, cannot absorb food due to intestinal damage from surgery, or have had their esophagus removed.