On Tuesday, February 15, our Fundamentals in Biomedical Sciences Class was visited by a Senior Member of the St. Luke's Biomedical Sciences Class, Anna Marie Bentley. She chose to speak with us about Neonatal Care through the lens of a mock Clinical Case. Our "patient", Nickie, is a male born 2 weeks premature who has spent 3 months in the NICU. Before we could begin the case study, we got some quick facts about Neonatal Care.
NICU
-The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is an Intensive care unit that specializes in the care of ill or premature newborns
-The Term Neonatal Refers to the first 28 days of Life
-Most of the Babies admitted to the NICU are born preterm and have low birth rate OR have health conditions that need specialized care.
Nickie has had a Tracheostomy and currently is using a PICC Line as well as a Nasogastric Tube. Nickie will soon be leaving the NICU to go home, so he has many essentials he must bring with him to maintain his health. These essentials will be held in a "Go Bag" that will be with him wherever he may go.
Tracheostomy
-A tracheostomy is a surgical opening in the trachea. A tube is inserted throughout the opening to allow passage of air and removal of secretions.
-A tracheostomy is needed when there is an obstruction of upper airway, central nervous disorders, cognitive heart disease, respiratory disorders, or craniofacial disorders.
PICC Line
-a PICC Line (Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter) is a thin flexible tube that is inserted in a view, usually in the bend of the arm. The catheter is threaded up into the body so that the tip lie in one of the large veins in the chest. A PICC Line is used to insert many medications and fluids.
Nasogastric Tube
- A Nasogastric Tube (NG Tube) is a thin, soft, tube that goes through the nose and down the throat, and into the stomach.
-A NG tube is used to feed formula to a child who cannot get nutrition by Mouth
Nickie's Go Bag
-suction catheters
-water container
-extra trach tubes
-small towel roll
-sterile lubricant
-sterile saline
-blunt ended scissors
-suction machine
-manual resuscitator bag
How to Insert a Nasogastric Tube
Measure the tube by holding the tip of the tube at the nose. Measure towards the ear then to the halfway point between the breast bone and belly button.
Mark the tube with sharpie or tape
Put the tube into a nostril aiming towards the opposite nostril and push gently until the mark on the tube
Tape tube to cheek
Use syringe to suction to make sure the tube is in the stomach
Anna Marie showed our class a video of how we may insert a Nasogastric Tube before she showed us herself! We then got to try as well. I'd like to thank Anna MArie for coming to our class. Her presentation was quite interesting and I'd love to hear more about Neonatal Care.
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