Adverse effects from inappropriate medication administration via a jejunostomy feeding tube.

Numerous complications can arise when administering medications to patients receiving continuous enteral feeding. We report a case of a patient who could not be fed by mouth and was receiving continuous jejunal enteral feeding who had an adverse event associated with inappropriate administration of a medication via his jejunostomy tube. He had taken an extended-release niacin product before hospitalization for type IIb hyperlipidemia. The patient was inappropriately given a single dose of 750 mg of niacin as the short-acting tablets that were crushed and administered via the jejunostomy tube. He experienced severe cutaneous flushing, a feeling of warmth, itching, nausea, and emesis. He was noted to have "prickly heat" to the forehead, according to the nursing notes. A discussion of problems and guidelines for medication administration in adult patients receiving continuous tube feeding is provided.