(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A new strategy is helping premature infants and
other babies with severe swallowing problems learn how to eat on their own.
Physicians at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, were able to
help 15 out of 20 infants with severe feeding difficulties and airway concerns
learn how to feed by mouth. Babies who were successful were able to return home
without needing feeding tubes.
Each infant underwent crib-side evaluations using a special feeding tube with
advanced sensors that capture the rhythm of muscular contractions throughout the
digestive tract. With that information, doctors formulated individual strategies
to deliver effective nutrition.
Studies show almost two out of 10 babies have trouble feeding, which often leads
to large medical bills and extended hospital stays. Roughly 13 percent of all
infants and 26 percent of premature infants in the United States experience
swallowing dysfunction.
Physicians in the new study saved an estimated $1.8 million in health care costs
for those babies who needed gastric feeding tubes (G-tubes). An estimated
$50,000 is spent the first year children are on G-tubes.
"For every baby diagnosed with a feeding disorder, the ultimate goal is full
oral feeds." Sudarshan Jadcherla, M.D., a neonatologist at Nationwide Children's
Hospital and principal investigator in the Center for Perinatal Research, was
quoted as saying. Teaching newborns early to transition to oral feeds is
critical. "We can make the greatest impact during the first few months of their
lives because this is when the largest transformation is going on in their
behaviors and feeding skills," Dr. Jadcherla said.
SOURCE: Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, February 2009
