International journal of clinical pharmacy
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Multicenter Study
The role of clinical pharmacist to improve medication administration through enteral feeding tubes by nurses.
As a common practice, medications are given in addition to nutrients through enteral catheters especially in critically ill patients. Nurses are primarily responsible to administer medications in this manner. The correct drug delivery via enteral tubes requires special skills. ⋯ This study showed that nurses did not have sufficient baseline knowledge about rules of drug administration via enteral feeding tubes; however, integrated educational program by clinical pharmacists that focus on promoting correct administration of drugs via enteral feeding catheters significantly improved knowledge and practice of nurses. A theory-practice gap was found in this study that may be related to the authority of physicians not nurses in ordering rules for medication administration through enteral catheters.