Getting Babies off Feeding Tubes
Reported January 27, 2009
(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
