Evidence-Based Guideline for Suctioning the Intubated Neonate and Infant

Gardner, Denice L. NNP-BC, MSN
Shirland, Lee NNP-BC, MS

Accepted for publication November 2007. Revised September 2008.

About the Authors

Denice L. Gardner is a neonatal nurse practitioner in a 44-bed Level III NICU at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center in Fayetteville, North Carolina. She received her associate degree in nursing from Sampson Technical College in Clinton, North Carolina, in 1982 and her MSN from Medical University of South Carolina in 2007, where she attended the Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Program. Denice would like to thank her family, as well as the NICU staff NAPS group, and neonatologists at CFVMC, for their love and constant support and encouragement during school and the writing (and rewriting!) of this manuscript.

Lee Shirland is a neonatal nurse practitioner and cocoordinator for the Neonatal Advanced Practice Service in the 44-bed Level III NICU at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center in Fayetteville, North Carolina. She received her BSN from the University of Maine in 1988, where she graduated with highest distinction, and her MS from Boston College in May of 1995, where she attended the Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Program. Lee is the current president of the Carolinas Association of Neonatal Nurse Practitioners and is a council member for the National Association of Neonatal Nurse Practitioners.

For further information, please contact

Denice L. Gardner, NNP-BC, MSN

48 E. Bay Ridge Road

Harrells, NC 28444

E-mail: [email protected]

Neonatal Network 28(5):p 281-302, September-October 2009.

Abstract

The endotracheal tube (ETT) is the most common artificial airway used in NICUs. Suctioning of the ETT is imperative to maintain patency and prevent complications. An extensive review of the literature revealed a lack of standardized criteria or guidelines for suctioning the ETT of neonates and infants in the NICU. The purpose of this article is to report the implementation of an evidence-based guideline that can be utilized in NICU care.