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Objective: Increased gastric residual volume is a complication of enteral nutrition intolerance that leads to gastrointestinal complications such as nausea, vomiting, and aspiration pneumonia. The present study was conducted to determine the effect of gastric gas emptying on the residual gastric volume in mechanically-ventilated patients fed through nasogastric tubes.Methods: This randomized, single-blind, clinical trial was conducted on two groups of patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) of Kamyab Hospital of Mashhad. A total of 64 patients were randomly divided into a case and a control group. In the case group, the gastric gases accumulated through the nasogastric tube were emptied by applying palm pressure on the epigastric region. The control group did not undergo this intervention but received the routine care provided in the ward. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire and a form containing records of the patients’ residual gastric volume and disease-related information. The residual gastric volume was measured and compared in the two groups before and after the intervention. Data were analyzed in SPSS-19 using the Chi-square test, the independent t-test, and the repeated measures ANOVA at the significance level of 5%.Results: The residual gastric volume did not differ significantly between the two groups before the intervention (p=0.14); after the intervention; however, a significant reduction was observed in the case group compared to the controls (p=0.007).Conclusion: Gastric gas emptying helps reduce the residual gastric volume in mechanically-ventilated patients fed through nasogastric tubes. Further studies are recommended to further ensure the benefits of this method.

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