Transitioning to oral feeding: A retrospective cohort study of a family-centered, hunger-based tube weaning program.

Background: We investigated the effectiveness of a novel, hunger-based outpatient tube weaning program for children with feeding-tube dependency.

Methods: This interdisciplinary program induced hunger via rapid reduction in tube-fed calories, followed by 2 weeks of daily outpatient mealtime support and regular follow-up. Forty-one children (6.9 months to 12.8 years) participated in this retrospective cohort study.

Results: Before the program, children received a median of 90.0% (interquartile range [IQR]: 75.0%-100%) of caloric intake via tube feeds. At the end of the 2-week program, children received 16.0% (IQR: 0.0%-30.0%) of caloric intake via tube feeds, which further reduced to 1.5% (IQR: 0.0%-33.0%) at 6-months, and 0.0% (IQR: 0.0%-35.0%) at 1-year follow-up. The percentage of participants who ate >30 different foods increased from 4.9% at baseline to 81.5% at 1-year follow-up. The baseline median weight z score of -1.24 (IQR: -1.69 to -0.69) decreased to -1.81 (IQR: -2.77 to -1.02) at 1-year follow-up. A linear mixed-effects model demonstrated that weight z score was significantly higher at baseline and 2-weeks compared to the 1-year follow-up (P < 0.001 and P = 0.001, respectively), but was not significantly different between 6 months and 1 year (P = 0.44). Age was not associated with percentage of caloric intake via tube feeds or number of foods eaten.

Conclusion: Children who participated in the hunger-based tube-weaning program had increased and more varied oral intake 1 year following the intervention. The median weight z score decreased over the year after intervention but did not significantly decrease between 6 and 12 months after the program.