In the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), effective and safe delivery of enteral nutrition is a necessary aspect of care. As in critically ill adults, enteral nutritional support is associated with lower rates of morbidity and mortality among critically ill children in the PICU. Enteral nutrition is most commonly delivered through a gastric or postpyloric feeding tube.

Commonly, postpyloric feeding tubes are placed at the bedside by using a blind insertion technique and radiographic confirmation of the tube’s location. Blind placement of postpyloric feeding tubes is prone to complications (eg, insertion in the bronchial tree or stomach, aspiration during the procedure, and migration of the feeding tube after placement), which require repositioning and repeated radiation exposures to assess the location of the feeding tube. In light of the complications and resource intensiveness of placing postpyloric feeding tubes, a safe and effective method of delivering enteral nutrition is needed in critically...

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