Memorial Health NICU participates in feeding tube clinical trial for premature infants

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - Memorial Health’s Dwaine and Cynthia Willet Children’s Hospital is taking part in the second generation Entarik feeding tube system clinical trial for premature infants.

The hospital is one of four institutions participating in the trial, and the NICU’s medical director said they have already been seeing positive results in multiple babies.

New feeding tube offers tracking capabilities

The feeding tube is able to be tracked and monitored while it’s in place and alerts doctors if it moves out of place.

“To be involved in research like this, to bring that locally here, it adds safety to the babies, it reduces the amount of x-rays that we have to do, and hopefully it’s going to help us shorten our length of stay,” said Dr. Brad Buckler, neonatal medical director.

Buckler said the feeding tube is like night and day for patient safety. Down the line, he said he could see this also being beneficial for adults and even at home use.

“This is not just a little southeast part of Georgia, we’re really working on a national level to talk about the care that we’re providing to infants,” Buckler said.

Mother sees improvement in twins

Shana Brinson, whose twins are in the NICU, said she jumped at the opportunity for her girls to be in the trial.

“I mean, it was almost like an instant improvement really for them,” Brinson said.

Brinson said her oldest son was also in the NICU years ago and can’t believe how fast the girls are progressing with their eating habits compared to her son.

“So yeah, I’m glad that they have something like this now. And I really see where it can be beneficial to a lot of babies and a lot of mamas, because it’s terrible watching your baby spit up their food and there’s nothing you can do,” Brinson said.