Enteral Feeding Methods

The type of nutrients to be used depends largely on the enteral tube that is used and on the status of the patient. 1-3,5,83,87,88 The big question is: what should you feed the cancer patient? The easy answer is, whatever the pet will eat, however, specific therapy is preferred. Blended canned pet foods may be adequate for feeding by esophagostomy and gastrostomy tubes. Whenever possible, consider diets that are relatively low in simple carbohydrates, easily digestible, and that have appropriate soluble and insoluble sources of fiber. The later can be accomplished by adding psyllium to a canned maintenance pet food diet or by using a weight maintaining diet such as Hills Prescription Diet W/D. Because the later has restricted calories, an increased volume of feeding may be needed. Human enteral feeding products are easily administered though nasogastric and jejunostomy tubes (e.g., Impact, Osmolite HN, Jevity), however, veterinary enteral products are now available that are specifically tailored for the nutritional needs of animals, especially cats (e.g, Clinicare). In any case, feeding usually is not started until 24 hours after the tube is placed except for pets with an esophagostomy tube. Once feeding is started, the amount of nutrients is gradually increased over several days and is administered frequently in small amounts, which allows the animal to adapt to this method of feeding. Continuous feeding may reduce the risk of vomiting caused by overloading the GI tract. Regardless, the tube should be aspirated 3 to 4 times a day to ensure there is not excessive residual volume in the GI tract. The tube should be flushed periodically with warm water to prevent clogging.