pH is the emerging US/Global Standard for confirming NG/OG tube gastric placement in the NICU.
Faster and much less expensive than x-ray, immediate results and no exposure to radiation.
Versatile, can be used in hospital or home environment to confirm tube placement without exposure to x-ray.
FDA/CLIA
The attached photo shows a test I performed on a patient with continuous feeds. Patient vomited and pushed his OG tube out so a new tube had to be placed.
Tube was placed and PH was taken using RightSpotpH® indicator on 10 mL BD syringe. PH indicator immediately turned to a gold color closely matching that of 4.5 or less. I pulled several mL’s through indicator and removed indicator to place drops on PH paper. PH paper Lot # 208515 Exp 3/30/18 initially had zero color change. I took the attached photo several minutes later after finishing securing OG and the paper still had little to no change. The residual I pulled from patient stomach was tan/white partially digested formula.
Conclusion from initial use of RightSpotpH® indicator is that it is a much more accurate and reliable way to test PH. Without this indicator I would have had to rely on other means to identify placement of this tube.
I will continue to seek other opportunities to further evaluate this product.