Advances in neonatal care : official journal of the National Association of Neonatal Nurses
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Safe and effective functioning of nasogastric and orogastric tubes in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is achieved by ensuring their correct placement within the stomach. Insertion length has traditionally been estimated using morphological measures, but studies have indicated that these are frequently inaccurate. This study aimed to evaluate the frequency of correct tube placement and to determine a weight-based formula for estimation of insertion length. ⋯ We propose a novel weight-based formula for estimation of gastric tube insertion length in newborn infants to improve the accuracy of this routine procedure.