Comatose vegetative patients require the placement of a gastric tube, through which a nasal diet is administered, mainly liquid food or semi-liquid food, and attention is paid to nutritional balance to ensure that the body has the necessary nutrients.
Nasogastric diet involves inserting a gastric tube through the nose and placing it directly into the stomach. Through the gastric tube, nutritious fluids, porridge, rice paste, etc. can be injected. Family members can put nutrients such as vegetables, fruits, eggs, meat froth, ham hocks, etc. into a cooking machine or blender to make a paste, which is then injected into the gastrointestinal tract through the gastric tube to ensure that the diet adds nutrients.
When feeding an unconscious vegetative person, try to keep the patient semi-recumbent or seated and lying down half an hour after the feeding is over to prevent aspiration, which can lead to aspiration pneumonia. Most patients may have primitive reflexes such as sucking, chewing and swallowing.
If a comatose vegetative person has difficulty eating by nasal feeding for a long period of time and chokes frequently, a gastric tube may be implanted into the jejunum under gastroscopic guidance to ensure feeding.