ABSTRACT

Most of the patients who require enteral nutrition therapy also require concomitant medication administration. In this review, the appropriate medication administration through the post-pyloric feeding tube and related issues that should be considered by clinicians has been focused and accordingly appropriateness of some medication available in our country were listed. Before the drug administration via feeding tube, information such as length of the functional bowel, the inner diameter and length of the tube, the location of distal end of the feeding tube should be considered. The location of distal end of the feeding tube plays an important role for drug absorption due to differences in pH and osmolarity between stomach and jejunum. While a medication designed for oral use administered directly to the jejunum, its bioavailability, gastric complaints and malabsorption may alter, since the expected process (dissolution in stomach and absorption from small intestine) cannot be pursued. As a result, inappropriate medication administration in patients with post-pyloric feeding tube may lead to ineffectiveness, adverse reactions or toxicity of the medication. Therefore, to provide optimal pharmaceutical and nutritional treatment together, medications should be evaluated for appropriateness before administration via post-pyloric feeding tube by the multidisciplinary team, including clinical pharmacists.

Keywords: Clinical pharmacy, post-pyloric feeding, jejunum, medication administration via feeding tube