Artificial Nutrition Made Easy

Among patients who require long-term home care, unfortunately many need artificial feeding. In such cases, a nutrient-containing solution is delivered directly into the stomach — therefore it is also called enteral feeding. If this method of feeding is carried out "roughly," it burdens and stresses the already weakened body. Fortunately there is a solution to make the patient’s life easier.

The simplest method of feeding is by mouth (for example, in the form of nutritional formulas). However, in many cases the patient is uncooperative and it is impossible to deliver food orally. In these situations the nutrients are provided via the gastrointestinal tract (for example via a nasogastric tube).

Artificial feeding

Not only must weakened patients who are unable to eat independently (due to coma, accident, or surgery) be fed, but also those whose sense of hunger has diminished or disappeared entirely. This is most often needed in old age, after strokes, or in people with chewing and swallowing problems.

Some patients with certain mental illnesses (anorexia, depression) may not want to eat, or they may suffer from digestive or absorption disorders. Enteral feeding can also be a solution for them.

The high risk of malnutrition

Either way, prolonged lack of nutrition results in insufficient energy and nutrient intake and leads to deficiencies in the basic nutrients required for cellular function. The body fights this by deriving the raw materials it needs for functioning (amino acids, sugars, fats) from the breakdown of its own tissues.

This whole process leads to malnutrition and, depending on its severity, can result in pathological psychological and somatic states.

Malnutrition cannot be diagnosed by appearance alone, so patients who may be at risk must be monitored carefully.

Enteral feeding

If oral feeding is not possible for some reason, a tube is passed through the nose into the stomach and the necessary life-sustaining nutrients are injected through it.

If this is done carelessly and a large amount is delivered at once, the greater nutrient load triggers an unfavorable, stressful response from the body:

• the body responds to a large meal by increasing insulin release
• insulin has a very strong effect and shuttles all carbohydrates from the blood into storage
• once the circulating carbohydrates available to send to storage are depleted, the cells begin to "starve" even though a large number of calories were provided
• the cellular metabolism switches to a "starvation" mode, which is more burdensome and further worsens an already poor condition
• such "dumping" style feeding can even do more harm than good to the patient.

It is clear that the above process is not ideal for the patient’s body, because a large quantity of food given at once overloads the patient’s system and can worsen their condition.

Artificial feeding should be performed with a method that takes the patient's condition and metabolic function into much better account. Instead of, whenever possible, pouring a whole bottle of formula into the feeding tube at once, it is better for the patient to receive a small amount continuously without interruption. Of course, a caregiver cannot do this manually all day — they cannot sit by the bed with a pipette and dose the formula drop by drop.

Fortunately, there is a simple-to-use delivery device — the enteral feeding pump — which makes life much easier for both the patient and the caregiver.

Enteral feeding pump

The enteral feeding pump is a simple device that allows the nutrient solution to be administered evenly, drop by drop, distributed over periods of up to 24 hours. It eliminates the unfavorable insulin response described above and reduces the risk of nutrient deficiency.

It looks and works similarly to hospital infusion pumps. You set how long you want to deliver a given amount of solution, and the pump continuously and very precisely administers it.

High-precision dosing helps to nourish the body without overloading it and supports proper functioning.

It is recommended for anyone caring for a patient who requires prolonged artificial feeding at home and who wants to avoid adverse effects on the patient or improve the patient’s nutrition.

Better nutrition means less strain on the patient, shorter recovery time, and as a result a much lower chance of developing pressure sores. Recovery can be accelerated and quality of life improved.