Abstract

Gastric residual volume (GRV) checks have been common practice in the acute care setting for many years; however, there is evidence to suggest that their use should be reconsidered. Evidence suggests that this practice has never been standardized, provides an inaccurate measurement, and often results in underfeeding; instead, evidence suggests only assessing for signs and symptoms of gastrointestinal intolerance such as abdominal pain, abdominal distention, and vomiting. The purpose of this project was to implement and evaluate the current evidence based practice for patients on the Medical Intensive Care Unit at University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital. In response, the current practice of performing GRV checks was eliminated and enteral feedings were suspended based on signs and symptoms of intolerance. Nutritional adequacy was evaluated over a four week period from January 28, 2021 to March 11, 2021 based on patient weight. Thirty seven patients gained an average of 6.2 pounds over the six week period. These results indicate that the elimination of GRV checks in critically ill patients could prevent malnutrition over time.

Author Details

Hanna Landgrave, DNP(c), RN, CCRN

Sigma Membership

Non-member

Lead Author Affiliation

Samford University, Birmingham, Alabama, USA

Type

DNP Capstone Project

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

Other

Research Approach

N/A

Keywords:

Gastric Residual Volume, Critical Care, Enteral Nutrition

Advisor

Buckner, Ellen

Degree

DNP

Degree Grantor

Samford University

Degree Year

2021

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

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All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.

All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository.

All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.

Review Type

None: Degree-based Submission

Acquisition

Self-submission

Date of Issue

2021-07-20

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