gutsandgrowth

Home | About Jay Hochman -Pediatric Gastroenterology Blog | Archives

Gastrostomy Tubes for Children with Cystic Fibrosis

August 27, 2013 7:00 am

A recent report indicates that gastrostomy tubes (Gtubes) can be safe and useful for supplemental nutrition in children with cystic fibrosis (CF) and portal hypertension (JPGN 2013; 57: 245-47).

This small study from Australia was a retrospective study of their CF database from 1991-2011.  During this timeframe, 60 CF patients had gastrostomy tubes.  7 children had CF and portal hypertension.  The mean age of insertion was 10.6 years and all of these patients were pancreatic insufficient. Six of these 7 patients had percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG); one had open surgical placement due to preexisting varices.  The median length of followup was 4 years.

Results:

• No patients developed stomal varices
• One patient had minimal cellulitis in the perioperative period, otherwise no complications were noted.
• Two patients died related to advanced pulmonary disease
• Three patients developed varices during the course of their care
• Overall, there was improvement in BMI z-score at 2 years from -1.07 ± 0.87 to -0.58 ± 0.81 (p=0.05) and also at w years there was improvement in pulmonary function in 6 patients with mean FEV-1 going from 49.5 ± 12.6 to 62.3 ± 20.3 (P=0.04)

Take-home message: in a select group of 7 patients with Cystic Fibrosis and portal hypertension, gtube placement was safe and associated with better nutrition and lung function.

Related blog links:

• Breaking down lung defenses in Cystic Fibrosis | gutsandgrowth
• Ivacaftor for Cystic Fibrosis | gutsandgrowth

Posted by gutsandgrowth

Categories: Nutrition

Tags: cystic fibrosis, gastrostomy tube

« Older Newer »

Mobile Site | Full Site

Get a free blog at WordPress.com Theme: WordPress Mobile Edition by Alex King.