The purpose of this statement is to:
Provide support to dietitians and health professionals who treat patients (children and adults) with enteral blended tube feeds (BTF) by summarising the current research and expert clinical consensus.
- Quick Tips for Commencing Inpatient Blended Tube Feeding
This 7-step checklist is recommended as a guideline to help hospital-based dietitians ensure that
homemade BTF can be safely administered to a hospitalised patient, in the absence of a local hospital
procedure.
The goal is to work through the checklist systematically with the relevant multidisciplinary team members,
and most importantly, the patient / guardian / carer.
If you are wanting to create a local procedure for inpatient use of homemade BTF, please refer to
"Inpatient BTF Procedure Development Guideline”.
- Tube Feeding (BTF) Procedure Development Guideline
The purpose of this guideline is to assist the clinician leading the development of a blended tube
feeding (BTF) inpatient procedure. This is a guide only and it is encouraged that assessment/gap
analysis is completed and consultation with local stakeholders and local policies (listed below)
within your hospital is carried out.
This document has been written by Dietitians for Dietitians to assist with establishing an inpatient
BTF procedure in their hospital.
- The A-Z on Blended Tube Feeding: A Dietitian resource
This document includes information for Dietitians to consider when working with patients and
their families as they start their blended tube feed (BTF) journey. It is preferred to be read in
conjunction with the AuSPEN Blended Tube Feeding (BTF) Consensus Statement.
- Getting started with homemade Blended Tube Feeds (BTF)
Resource 2: Getting started with homemade Blended Tube Feeds (BTF) - To be used in conjuction with Resource 1: What is Blended Tube Feeding?
- What is Blended Tube Feeding?
BTF is any food or fluid excluding commercial formula that is given via an enteral feeding tube.
BTF can be given put through a feeding tube via syringe or gravity set/drip depending on your feeding tube size, feeding regimen needs, and dietitian’s recommendations.
*This resource is intended to be read in conjunction with Resource 2 Getting Started with Homemade BTF and Resource 3 BTF: AuSPEN BTF Planner
- Checklist Prior to commencing a patient on BTF
Dietitian Checklist Prior to Commencing a Patient on Blended Tube Feeds (BTF)
- Blended Tube Feed Planner + working recipe sheets
This guide will help you plan nutritionally balanced Blended Tube Feeds (BTF), and blended
recipes based on the Australian and New Zealand Guidelines*.
You can use the tools in this planner to track how many serves from each food group you
are using in your BTF each day compared to what is needed. It is important to choose foods
from each different food group every day, as they are all rich in different nutrients. It is also
recommended to include a variety of foods from within each food group.