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Physical Examination Score of McClave et al for Evaluating a Patient with an Enteral Feeding Tube

Purpose: To evaluate a patient with an enteral feeding tube using the physical examination score of McClave et al.

Description

McClave et al developed a score for monitoring clinical and physical findings in a patient with an enteral tube. These can help monitor a patient with an enteral tube for signs of intolerance. The authors are from the University of Louisville, the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Louisville, and Diabetes Research in Lexington, Kentucky.


Parameters:

(1) nausea and/or vomiting

(2) feeling bloated and/or distended

(3) abdominal pain

(4) passing gas and/or stool

(5) bowel sounds

(6) tense abdomen

(7) abdominal tympany

(8) clinical distention

 

Parameter

Finding

Points

nausea and/or vomiting

absent

0

 

present

1

feeling bloated or distended

absent

0

 

present

1

abdominal pain

absent

0

 

present

1

passing gas and/or stool

both

0

 

gas but not stool

1

 

neither gas nor stool

3

bowel sounds

present

0

 

absent

1

tense abdomen

absent

0

 

present

1

abdominal tympany

normal or decreased

0

 

increased

1

clinical distention

absent

0

 

present

1

 

where:

• The original table has (a) 1 point for gas but no stool, (b) 2 points for neither gas nor stool, and (c) a maximum score of 11. These constraints require the above point assignment.

 

total score =

= SUM(points for all 8 parameters)

 

Interpretation:

• minimum score: 0

• maximum score: 11

• The higher the score the more likely that there may be a problem with continuing enteral feedings.


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Specialty

Objective

ICD-10