Blenderized Tube Feedings: ASPEN Practice Recommendations

Over the past several years, there has been increased interest in and use of blended foods for tube feeding. Today, the term blenderized tube feeding (BTF) is widely used to refer to food and liquid blended into a puree thin enough to be given via a feeding tube.

Recognizing that BTF is being used more and more often in both the home and hospital settings, the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN) Enteral Nutrition Committee has developed practice recommendations based on current research to help guide patients and nutrition professionals in the use of BTF. The recommendations are based on seventy-nine articles published between 2016 and 2021 that the committee identified as relevant to BTF.

We recommend you look at the article, which will soon be available on the ASPEN website, if you are on tube feeding, caring for someone on tube feeding, or are even remotely considering BTF. Here, in one place, are gathered the most essential points from a broad selection of current literature. You’ll find a discussion of the pros and cons of commercial vs. homemade BTF, including why some people have chosen BTF; using BFT with different types and sizes of tubes, with pumps, and with varying methods of delivery; BTF consistency, and flow rates; how to prepare and store BFT safely; recommended hang times for BTF; recipe guidance and possible additives for BTF; using BTF in the hospital setting; and the follow-up, lab tests, and monitoring that should occur or that one could expect.

The recommendations are titled “Blenderized tube feedings: practice recommendations from the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition,” by L. Epp, A. Blackmer, A. Church, et al., and were published in Nutrition in Clinical Practice in 2023 (doi:10.1002/ncp.11055).

The paper’s authors wish to note that the expert practice recommendations should not be confused with guidelines. Clinical evidence is still lacking in many areas discussed, and the recommendations rely mostly on weaker literature and expert opinion. The recommendations do not constitute medical or other professional advice and should not be taken as such.

The complete article will be available nutritioncare.org/ Guidelines_and_Clinical_Resources/Enteral_Nutrition_ Resources. It is in a very usable format and with tables and graphics that help explain the recommendations. The recording of a presentation on these recommendations given at the Oley 2023 conference in St. Louis, Missouri, by Lisa Epp, RDN, LD, CNSC, is available on YouTube.