A retrospective review of enteral nutrition support practices at a tertiary pediatric hospital: A comparison of prolonged nasogastric and gastrostomy tube feeding

摘要

Background & aims: Despite the frequent use of tube-mediated enteral feeding, there is little evidence clarifying best practices pertaining to prolonged nasogastric and gastrostomy tube use in children. At the Montreal Children's Hospital, tube feeding practices are non-standardized and highly variable, with many patients remaining on protracted nasogastric feeds. We aimed to characterize enteral nutrition practices at our institution and to compare prolonged nasogastric and gastrostomy tube use, hypothesizing that earlier gastrostomy improves outcomes, particularly the development of food refusal.