A Study on the Incidence of Diarrhea According to the Density of Nutrients Formulations in Nasogastric Tube-feeding Patients

비위관영양환자의 영양물 농도가 설사유발정도에 미치는 효과

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the difference in the incidence of diarrhea among the subjects given hypertonic and isotonic nutrients to the nasogastric tube feeding patients in the a critical care setting. Methods: This study is aquasi-experimental study with a pre & post-test design. The sample size of 40 was calculated based on Cohen's formula (1988). The total of 40 subjects who signed the informed consent were randomly selected and divided evenly into two groups, experimental and control group. Results: There are no significant differences between the two groups in homogeneity test (sex, age, albumin level, the use of antibiotics, antacid, and $H_2$ blocker). However, the frequencies of occurrence in diarrhea according to the density of nutrients formulation indicated a statistical difference at the level of .005 (p=.001): diarrhea occurred in four of 20 (20%) of the experiment group, but 14 (70%) of the control group. Also the onset date of diarrhea in the experiment group is later than that of the control group. Conclusion: The research findings suggest that we should begin with low density nutrients for nasogastric tube feeding, and increase its density gradually to decrease diarrhea incidence in the critical care setting.