Weight loss during ambulatory tube weaning: don’t put the feeds back up

Wright, C. M. , McNair, S., Milligan, B., Livingstone, J. and Fraser, E. (2022) Weight loss during ambulatory tube weaning: don’t put the feeds back up. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 107(8), pp. 767-771. (doi: 10.1136/archdischild-2021-323592) (PMID:35351738)

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Abstract

Objective: To describe the prevalence of weight loss during tube weaning and its impact on wean duration and growth. Setting: Tertiary feeding clinic, UK. Patients: All children seen for weaning from long-term enteral feeding between 2008 and 2016. Interventions: Outpatient withdrawal of enteral feeding. Design: Case series of children being weaned from tube feeding, documenting clinical details, periods of weight loss and timing of feed changes, as well as height and weight at baseline and within 1 year after feed cessation. Main outcome measures: Amount and frequency of weight loss, wean duration, change in body mass index (BMI) and height SD z score. Results: Weaning was attempted in 58 children, median age 2.7 years, and 90% had stopped feeds after median (range) 5.9 (1–40) months. Weight loss was seen in 51 (88%) children and was more common and severe in children with initially higher BMI. Time to feed cessation reduced by median 4.9 months between 2008–2011 and 2012–2016, while having feeds increased prolonged the wean duration, by median 13 months. After feed cessation, mean (95% CI) BMI had dropped by 0.84 (0.5 to 1.2) z scores, but neither change in BMI, nor the amount and frequency of weight loss, related to growth. Conclusions: Short-term weight loss is to be expected during tube weaning and is not associated with compromised growth. It is important to avoid overfeeding enterally fed children and not to increase feeds again in response to weight loss.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Wright, Professor Charlotte
Creator Roles:
Wright, C. M.Conceptualization, Data curation, Project administration, Formal analysis, Methodology, Writing – original draft, Writing – review and editing
Authors: Wright, C. M., McNair, S., Milligan, B., Livingstone, J., and Fraser, E.
College/School:College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Medicine, Dentistry & Nursing
Journal Name:Archives of Disease in Childhood
Publisher:BMJ Publishing Group
ISSN:0003-9888
ISSN (Online):1468-2044
Published Online:29 March 2022
Copyright Holders:Copyright © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022
First Published:First published in Archives of Disease in Childhood 2022
Publisher Policy:Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy

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