The nurse aspirates from the nasointestinal tube. Which requires the nurse to plan follow-up nursing interventions?

Question

1. Aspirated liquid totals 5 ml of greenish fluid.
2. Feeding tube collapses with negative pressure.
3. Nurse aspirates a small amount of the formula.
4. Aspirated liquid appears pale and straw colored.

Answer 1

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4. The nurse plans follow-up nursing interventions after aspirating pale and straw-colored fluid because intestinal aspirate should be green indicative of the flu-id's bile concentration. Because the aspirate is inconsistent with clinical indicators for intestinal fluid, the nurse investigates further to verify tube placement before instilling anything into the nasointestinal tube.
1 and 3. The nurse expects to aspirate a small amount of greenish fluid indicative of bile in the fluid. This also indicates placement of the nasointestinal tube in the intes-tines because the intestines cannot sequester large amounts of fluid like the stomach can.
2. The nurse expects the nasointestinal tube to collapse with negative pressure because it is a soft pliable tube.