We report a longitudinal, prospective, multicentre cohort study designed to measure the outcomes of gastrostomy tube feeding in children with cerebral palsy (CP). Fifty-seven children with CP (28 females, 29 males; median age 4y 4mo, range 5mo to 17y 3mo) were assessed before gastrostomy placement, and at 6 and 12 months afterwards. Three-quarters of the children enrolled (43 of 57) had spastic quadriplegia; other diagnoses included mixed CP (6 of 57), hemiplegia (3 of 57), undiagnosed severe neurological impairment (3 of 57), ataxia (1 of 57), and extrapyramidal disorder (1 of 57). Only 7 of 57 (12%) could sit independently, and only 3 of 57 (5%) could walk unaided. Outcome measures included growth/anthropometry, nutritional intake, general health, and complications of gastrostomy feeding. At baseline, half of the children were more than 38D below the average weight for their age and sex when compared with the standards for typically-developing children. Weight increased substantially over the study period; the median weight z score increased from -3 before gastrostomy placement to -2.2 at 6 months and -1.6 at 12 months. Almost all parents reported a significant improvement in their child's health after this intervention and a significant reduction in time spent feeding. Statistically significant and clinically important increases in weight gain and subcutaneous fat deposition were noted. Serious complications were rare, with no evidence of an increase in respiratory complications.

Functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGID) are common among children and may cause a significant symptom burden. The Rome criteria are symptom-based guidelines for the assessment of FGID among children and adults. The aim of this systematic review was to estimate the prevalence of FGID utilizing the revised Rome IV criteria. Nine health databases were searched. The inclusion criteria were: prospective FGID prevalence data using the Rome IV criteria for children up to 18 years, and the exclusion criteria were: cohorts with known gastrointestinal or organic conditions. The data were presented as a percentage of children experiencing at least one FGID, as well as in individual categories. The searches identified 376 papers, with 20 included in the final analysis, providing a pooled cohort of 18,935 children. The median prevalence of FGID for children aged up to four years was 22.2% (range 5.8–40%), and aged four–eighteen years was 21.8% (range 19–40%). The most common FGID for children aged 0–12 months was infant regurgitation, the most common FGID for those aged 13–48 months were functional constipation and cyclic vomiting, and, for those aged over four years, functional constipation, functional dyspepsia, and irritable bowel syndrome. This reported overall incidence of FGID may be used as a benchmark of normative data among the general population and comparative data for those with comorbid disease.

Gastrostomy tube (GT) feeding in children with cerebral palsy (CP) is associated with significant increases in weight gain and, potentially, with overfeeding. This study aimed to measure energy balance and body composition in children with CP who were fed either orally or by GT. Forty children (27 males, 13 females; median age 8y 6mo; range 1y 4mo-18y 11mo) with spastic quadriplegic CP, of whom 22 were gastrostomy-fed and 18 orally-fed, underwent anthropometry, indirect calorimetry, and total energy expenditure determination (doubly-labelled water method). Total body water content (estimated by the 18O dilution method) was used to determine body composition. The Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) was used to determine the degree of motor impairment. GMFCS levels ranged from I to V; in the gastrostomy group 19 out of 22 were Level V and two out of 22 were Level IV. Within the orally-fed group, 11 out of 18 were Level V and four out of 18 were Level IV. Resting metabolic rate and total energy expenditure of the gastrostomy-fed children were lower but they had a significantly larger triceps skinfold thickness (p=0.01) and fat mass index (p=0.02) than the orally-fed children. Both groups had consistently higher body-fat content and lower fat-free (i.e. muscle and bone) content than the reference population of age- and sex-matched children without disabilities. This study has demonstrated the relatively low energy expenditure and high body-fat content of children with severe CP and highlighted the potential risk of overfeeding with available enteral feeds administered via GT.

Background: Children with severe neurological impairment may have significant oral motor dysfunction and are at increased risk of nutritional deficiencies, poor growth, and aspiration pneumonia. Gastrostomy tube feeding is increasingly being used for nutritional support in these children. Aim: To examine the occurrence of respiratory morbidity before and after gastrostomy feeding tube insertion in children with severe neurological disabilities. Methods: This study was nested in a longitudinal, prospective, uncontrolled, multicentre cohort study designed to investigate the outcomes of gastrostomy tube feeding in 57 children with severe neurological disabilities. Parents completed a questionnaire prior to (visit 1) and 6 and 12 months (visits 2 and 3) following the gastrostomy, detailing number of chest infections requiring antibiotics and/or hospital admission. Results: Mean number of chest infections requiring antibiotics was 1.8 on visit 1 and 0.9 on visit 3. Hospital admissions for chest infections fell significantly from 0.5 to 0.09. Conclusion: This study provides no evidence for an increase in respiratory morbidity following insertion of a feeding gastrostomy in children with cerebral palsy.

The aim of this prospective cohort study was to evaluate the impact of gastrostomy tube feeding on the quality of life of carers of children with cerebral palsy (CP). Short-Form 36 version II was used to measure quality of life in carers of 57 Caucasian children with CP (28 females, 29 males; median age 4y 4mo, range 5mo to 17y 3mo) six and 12 months after insertion of a gastrostomy tube. Responses were calibrated against a normative dataset (Oxford Healthy Life Survey III). Six months after gastrostomy feeding was started, a substantial rise in mean domain scores for mental health, role limitations due to emotional problems, physical functioning, social functioning, and energy/vitality were observed. At 12 months after gastrostomy placement, carers reported significant improvements in social functioning, mental health, energy/vitality (mean increase >9.8 points;p<0.03), and in general health perception (mean increase 6.35 points;p=0.045) compared with results at baseline. Moreover, the values obtained for these domains at 12 months were not significantly different from the normal reference standard. Carers reported a significant reduction in feeding times, increased ease of drug administration, and reduced concern about their child's nutritional status. This study has demonstrated a significant, measurable improvement in the quality of life of carers after insertion of a gastrostomy feeding tube.