What Is a Nasogastric Tube? A Plain-Language Guide

Last verified: October 6, 2026. A nasogastric tube, usually shortened to NG tube, is a thin, flexible tube that passes through the nose, down the throat, and into the stomach. It gives clinicians a direct route to the stomach without surgery, which makes it one of the most widely used short-term tubes in hospital care. This guide covers what a nasogastric tube is, the problems it solves, the main types, how it differs from other feeding and drainage tubes, and the practical points that matter to research administrators, procurement staff, and clinic or lab managers.

This page is general information, not clinical or safety training. Always follow your institution’s procedures and the manufacturer’s instructions for use.

What Is a Nasogastric Tube?

The name describes the path: “naso” for the nose and “gastric” for the stomach. The tube is made of a soft polymer such as polyurethane, silicone, or PVC, and has a connector at the outer end and one or more openings near the tip inside the stomach. Markings along its length help staff record how far it has been placed. It can be used in two broad directions. Material can flow into the stomach, as with liquid nutrition or medication, or flow out of it, as with stomach fluid or air that needs to be removed. A tube used for one of these purposes is not necessarily suitable for the other, so the design and size are chosen to match the job.

The Problems a Nasogastric Tube Solves

People sometimes cannot eat or drink safely by mouth. They may be unconscious or sedated, recovering from surgery, unable to swallow after a stroke or other neurological event, or too ill to take in enough nutrition. Others have a blockage or paralysis of the gut that causes stomach contents to build up, which can cause vomiting and discomfort. A nasogastric tube addresses both situations. It lets staff deliver nutrition and fluids when swallowing is not possible, and it lets staff empty the stomach when it is not emptying itself. It also provides a way to collect a stomach sample for testing or to give certain medications.

The tube is typically a short-term solution. When a person will need tube feeding for an extended period, clinicians may consider a tube placed through the abdominal wall instead, which is more comfortable and more stable over the long term.

Who Uses a Nasogastric Tube

Nasogastric tubes are placed and managed by trained clinical staff, most often nurses and physicians, and managed with input from dietitians, speech-language pathologists, and pharmacists. They are common in emergency departments, intensive care units, surgical wards, neonatal and pediatric units, and long-term care. Some patients are sent home with a tube and their caregivers receive training, with a clinical team providing oversight. In research, nasogastric tubes appear in clinical nutrition studies and, in animal work, smaller analogous tubes are used for gavage, though the equipment and techniques differ and are governed by approved animal-care protocols.

Types of Nasogastric Tubes

Feeding tubes and decompression tubes

• Small-bore feeding tubes are narrow, soft, and comfortable enough to stay in for days or weeks. They are designed to deliver liquid nutrition and medication and are commonly used for feeding.
• Large-bore decompression tubes are wider and firmer. They are designed to drain stomach contents and are typically used for a shorter time, for example around surgery or in a bowel obstruction. Some designs have a second channel to prevent suction from sticking to the stomach lining.

By material

Polyurethane and silicone tubes are softer and generally better suited to longer use, while PVC tubes are stiffer and are often used for short-term drainage. Material choice affects comfort, how long a tube can safely stay in place, and cost.

By size and patient group

Sizes are expressed using French units, and adult, pediatric, and neonatal versions exist. Selection is a clinical decision made for each patient.

By accessories

Many tubes include a stylet, a thin guide wire that stiffens the tube during placement, a cap or plug, and an enteral-only connector. Special connectors for enteral devices are designed so that they do not fit intravenous lines, which reduces the risk of connecting a feed to the wrong access point.

How a Nasogastric Tube Differs from Related Devices

• Nasogastric vs. orogastric tube — an orogastric tube takes the same route but enters through the mouth. It is often used when the nose is not an option, for example in some newborns or in patients with certain facial injuries, and is common during surgery.
• Nasogastric vs. nasoduodenal or nasojejunal tube — these pass further, into the first sections of the small intestine, and are used when the stomach cannot be used for feeding.
• Nasogastric vs. gastrostomy tube — a gastrostomy or “G-tube” is placed through a small opening in the abdominal wall directly into the stomach and is meant for longer-term use.
• Nasogastric vs. intravenous therapy — an NG tube uses the digestive tract, whereas an IV bag and IV catheter deliver fluids straight into the bloodstream. Enteral and intravenous lines have separate connector designs for safety.
• Nasogastric vs. urinary catheter — both are tubes, but a Foley catheter drains the bladder rather than accessing the stomach.

Safety and Quality Topics

Verifying that the tip of the tube is in the stomach and not in the airway is one of the most important safety topics around this device, because feeding into the lungs can cause serious harm. Institutions publish their own policies on how placement is confirmed, how often position is rechecked, and what to do if a tube moves. Those policies reflect professional guidelines and the product’s labeling, and they should be followed in preference to anything on a general explainer. Other recurring concerns include skin and nasal irritation, blockage of narrow tubes, aspiration, and accidental removal. Staff tend to use securement devices and routine checks to reduce these problems.

Medication safety matters as well. Not every medication can be crushed or given through a tube, and some formulations can clog it, so pharmacists commonly advise on enteral administration. Using a syringe designed for enteral use, rather than a standard luer-tip syringe, is part of the broader effort to avoid cross-connections with intravenous lines.

Practical Relevance for Research Administration and Procurement

Nasogastric tubes are routine, recurring consumables, but they involve more product decisions than they first appear to. Buyers typically need to decide which sizes and materials to stock, whether to carry both feeding and decompression tubes, and which accessories to stock alongside them, including securement devices, enteral syringes, and feeding sets. Because the safety-oriented connector standards for enteral devices affect compatibility, it is worth confirming that tubes, syringes, and feeding sets from different suppliers actually fit together before standardizing on them.

Pediatric and neonatal sizes are lower volume but critical, and stock-outs are more consequential, so they usually merit a minimum stock level. Sterility, shelf life, and storage conditions should be checked, and tubes with limited dwell-time labeling should be matched to the intended use. Training also deserves budgeting: tube placement and care are skills that require competency checks, and institutions usually keep records of who is qualified.

For studies involving nutrition or enteral drug delivery, protocols should specify which device is used, who places it, how placement is confirmed in line with institutional policy, and how adverse events are recorded. Equipment used purely for research on animals falls under a separate approval process.

Where Nasogastric Tubes Show Up in Care Pathways

Nasogastric tubes rarely appear alone. A patient on a ventilator often has a gastric tube as well, because sedated patients cannot eat and because the stomach can fill with air or fluid. A patient recovering from abdominal surgery may have one temporarily to keep the stomach empty while the gut recovers. A stroke patient with swallowing difficulty may have one while a speech-language pathologist assesses whether safe oral intake is possible. Understanding these pathways helps planners estimate demand: tube use tends to rise and fall with surgical volume, intensive-care occupancy, and the mix of neurological and elderly patients a facility serves.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a nasogastric tube used for?

It is used to deliver nutrition, fluids, and medication into the stomach when a person cannot swallow safely, and to drain stomach contents or air when the stomach is not emptying properly. It can also be used to collect a stomach sample.

Is an NG tube the same as a feeding tube?

An NG tube is one kind of feeding tube, the kind that goes through the nose. Other feeding tubes, such as gastrostomy tubes, are placed through the abdominal wall and are generally used for longer periods.

What is the difference between an NG tube and an OG tube?

Both end in the stomach. The NG tube enters through the nose and the OG tube enters through the mouth. The choice depends on the patient and the situation.

Can people eat or drink with an NG tube in?

That depends on the individual’s condition and on instructions from their care team. Some people are restricted from eating and drinking, and others are allowed to take some food by mouth.

How long can a nasogastric tube stay in place?

It depends on the tube material, the product labeling, and the clinical situation. NG tubes are generally considered short-term devices, and the manufacturer’s instructions and clinical team decide the duration.

Why are enteral connectors different from IV connectors?

Because feeding or medication meant for the stomach could cause serious harm if it entered the bloodstream. Dedicated connector designs make it physically difficult to attach an enteral syringe or feeding set to an intravenous line.