Question

A doctor tells a patient, "you may need a nasogastric tube." after the doctor leaves the room, the patient turns to the medical assistant and asks, "what’s a nasogastric tube?" which of these is the best explanation?

A. "It’s for delivering food or medicine. It goes through your nose and down into your stomach."
B. "It’s for relieving severe headaches. It wraps around your forehead and ends at the base of your skull."
C. "It’s for physical therapy. Rolling on it massages the vertebrae and relieves lower back pain."
D. "It’s for allergies. It goes into both nostrils to allow for drainage."

Answer 1

Correct option: A. "It’s for delivering food or medicine. It goes through your nose and down into your stomach." A nasogastric tube is for delivering food or medicine and is inserted through the nose down into the patient's stomach to provide nutritional support or medication, or to remove stomach contents.

Step-by-step explanation:

The correct explanation for what a nasogastric tube is would be: "It’s for delivering food or medicine. It goes through your nose and down into your stomach." A nasogastric tube, often referred to as an NG tube, is inserted through the nostril, down the nasopharynx, and into the stomach. This tube has a number of uses, including administering nutrition, medication, or removing stomach contents. It is an essential tool used in various medical situations such as when a patient is unable to eat by mouth, for gastric decompression, or for collecting gastric content samples for medical tests.