i feel stupid like I should know this since I'm in nursing school and all, but i have a question. My dad is in a nursing home he has a peg tube and they usually keep a binder over it so he can't pull on it. Well they called all night lastnight. First they said he pulled it out and wanted to know if the family wanted it put back in. Well OF COURSE WE DO! Then they called back and said he would have to go to the hospital to do it. Then said they had a nurse that could do it. Then called and said the nurse couldn't get it and they would have to take him to the hospital. Then they "say" the hospital couldn't get it back in so they took him back to the nursing home and would have to schedule it to be put back in in the OR. To me it sounds like it would've had to stay out for awhile for it to not be able to go back in.I think it is their fault for not having the binder on him. So I guess my question is does anyone have experience with the peg tube coming all the way out? what happens?
2007-04-06 03:35:38 · 4 answers · asked by Lil'MissThang 3 in Health ➔ Other - Health
A peg tube is a feeding tube that goes into your stomach
2007-04-06 03:47:00 · update #1
he has MS is in the last stages and hasn't been able to eat in months....they gave him 6 months to live and he has hospice come to the nursing home to take care of him
2007-04-06 04:06:48 · update #2
he cannot talk and we have had problems with the nursing home before..the cna was cleaning it and she turned her back and he pulled it out "supposedly"....i have cleaned more than one and have never turned my back while i was doing it...and lastnight i accidentally pulled it out a little too far on my patient (my teacher was in with me) and it pushed right back in...the one main thing i've learned from nursing school is that everyone covers everyone elses a$$ in the medical field so no one will be blamed and if any way possible families won't find out anything 9 times outta 10 when a mistake has occured
2007-04-06 04:29:40 · update #3
Well, if your dad is confused and is not aware of what is going on around him, most likely he will pull that tube out. No matter how u would bind tubes or catheters, patients still get their way to it. To think nurses are not with one patient all the time, they also have other patients to attend to. You should know that since u are studying nursing. Once a peg tube is out, it can be reinserted again but things does not go always as they have to be. That means your dad need to have another one in in the OR. I have a patient who purposely removed her PEG so she can go back to the hospital. We have to send her back to OR to have it replaced.
2007-04-06 03:59:40 · answer #1 · answered by daniella 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Usually, when a peg tube is pulled out, if it is not noticed quickly, the hole closes off almost immediately. This is natures way of keeping the contents of the stomach in the stomach and not spilling out everywhere.
He probably pulled it out and the nurse didnt notice for a while. She probably thought she could put a foley tube back into the hole but the hole closed up and then she could not re cannulate the hole.
This is pretty common and happens a lot.
He will have to go back to the hospital now, be put under conscious sedation and then have the tube replaced.
He will go back to the nursing home after the procedure and may be sore for 24-48 hours.
As for the nurse wanting to know if you wanted the tube put back in.....maybe he is eating well enough not to have the tube put back.
When my mother had advanced dementia, our family opted to not artificially feed her because we did not want her to suffer longer. She died peacefully in her sleep. We felt like we did the right thing, which may not be the right thing for everyone.
PS I am a RN and hope this all works out for your family and your dad. I work in a hospital and we put these tubes in all the time and sometimes the pts are smarter than the staff. We have pts, who are totally demented, shut off their bed alarms, remove their binders and disconnect their IV's from the pole because their tubing was bothering them. They are confused, but not so bad they cant figure things out.
2007-04-06 10:56:17 · answer #2 · answered by happydawg 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It really isn't that big of a deal from what I understand. These are pulled out on occasion. The concern is getting it back in within hours of it coming out. If it is out for a few hours it isn't a big deal. If it is out overnight, the abdominal incision may begin to heal over. That is the concern.
The g-hole won't close up immediately. It takes about 2-3 hours. I am shocked that someone in the ER could not perform this procedure, however. It really probably is not the nursing home's fault. When my grandfather was in the hospital, he pulled out all of his tubes and I had to forcefully hold the O2 mask on him. It was ridiculous but he was sick and older people hate being controlled (in his case).
2007-04-06 10:49:36 · answer #3 · answered by Kacey Smith 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm not in the medical profession, but it sounds like he needs a new nursing home. Good luck!
2007-04-06 10:43:07 · answer #4 · answered by Lesley M 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋