Presenter Status
Early Career Investigator
Abstract Type
Clinical Research
Primary Mentor or Principal Investigator
Lori Erickson
Presentation Type
Poster
Start Date
21-5-2026 12:00 PM
End Date
21-5-2026 1:00 PM
Abstract Text
Background: Pediatric Feeding Disorder affects 1 in 37 young children, with some using feeding tubes for survival. Due to the financial, social, and medical burden of feeding tubes, the goal is to transition to all oral feedings when medically ready; however, children are referred to the multidisciplinary feeding clinic with wide variability in age, nutritional needs, and tube feeding duration. Understanding how these differences influence weaning outcomes is essential for optimizing outpatient interventions and tube weaning success.
Objectives/Goal: To evaluate whether age at enrollment (< 20 months, 20–44 months, >44 months) is associated with baseline nutritional dependency, time to full oral intake, and tube weaning success among children enrolled in the CHAMP For the Feeder pilot with the multidisciplinary feeding clinic.
Methods/Design: This retrospective analysis included children enrolled in the CHAMP for the Feeder pilot, an outpatient remote patient monitoring tube weaning study from October 2023 to Jan 2026. Participants were grouped by age at enrollment (< 20 months, 20-44 months, >44 months). Clinical characteristics including weight, height, estimated energy requirements (EER), percentage of EER delivered via tube feeding at weaning initiation, and duration of tube dependence were compared across age groups. Weaning success and time to full oral intake were analyzed using χ² tests, ANOVA, and survival analyses with confidence interval comparisons with nonparametric tests as appropriate.
Results: Demographics and family factors of the n=66 children did not differ across groups (n-16, 34, and 16). Ages at enrollment were 11.8, 30.3, and 60.4 months across the three groups, with corresponding significant increases in weight, height, number of hospitalizations and specialists and tube‑feeding durations across groups. Tube‑weaning success remained high across all groups: 87.5% (< 20 months), 91.2% (20–44 months), and 81.3% (>44 months), with no significant association between age and outcome (p=.604). For the 54 children who achieved full oral intake, the time to reach this milestone was also statistically similar across age groups, averaging 46.9, 41.6, and 48.8 days (p=301). Notably, the percentage of EER met by tube feeding at the start of weaning varied meaningfully by age, with means of 73%, 57%, and 84% across the three groups (p=.037), reflecting a shift in the 20-44 months age group in supplemental requirements.
Conclusions: Although tube‑weaning success and time to full oral intake did not differ significantly across age groups, the trends to shorter time to all nutrition by mouth and less EER are starting to appear in the 20-44 months age group. These findings may lead to the emergence of ideal tube weaning age with support of a structured and supported multidisciplinary feeding clinic model and tube weaning program.
Feeding Tube Weaning Outcomes Across Pediatric Age Groups in a Multidisciplinary Feeding Clinic
Background: Pediatric Feeding Disorder affects 1 in 37 young children, with some using feeding tubes for survival. Due to the financial, social, and medical burden of feeding tubes, the goal is to transition to all oral feedings when medically ready; however, children are referred to the multidisciplinary feeding clinic with wide variability in age, nutritional needs, and tube feeding duration. Understanding how these differences influence weaning outcomes is essential for optimizing outpatient interventions and tube weaning success.
Objectives/Goal: To evaluate whether age at enrollment (< 20 months, 20–44 months, >44 months) is associated with baseline nutritional dependency, time to full oral intake, and tube weaning success among children enrolled in the CHAMP For the Feeder pilot with the multidisciplinary feeding clinic.
Methods/Design: This retrospective analysis included children enrolled in the CHAMP for the Feeder pilot, an outpatient remote patient monitoring tube weaning study from October 2023 to Jan 2026. Participants were grouped by age at enrollment (< 20 months, 20-44 months, >44 months). Clinical characteristics including weight, height, estimated energy requirements (EER), percentage of EER delivered via tube feeding at weaning initiation, and duration of tube dependence were compared across age groups. Weaning success and time to full oral intake were analyzed using χ² tests, ANOVA, and survival analyses with confidence interval comparisons with nonparametric tests as appropriate.
Results: Demographics and family factors of the n=66 children did not differ across groups (n-16, 34, and 16). Ages at enrollment were 11.8, 30.3, and 60.4 months across the three groups, with corresponding significant increases in weight, height, number of hospitalizations and specialists and tube‑feeding durations across groups. Tube‑weaning success remained high across all groups: 87.5% (< 20 months), 91.2% (20–44 months), and 81.3% (>44 months), with no significant association between age and outcome (p=.604). For the 54 children who achieved full oral intake, the time to reach this milestone was also statistically similar across age groups, averaging 46.9, 41.6, and 48.8 days (p=301). Notably, the percentage of EER met by tube feeding at the start of weaning varied meaningfully by age, with means of 73%, 57%, and 84% across the three groups (p=.037), reflecting a shift in the 20-44 months age group in supplemental requirements.
Conclusions: Although tube‑weaning success and time to full oral intake did not differ significantly across age groups, the trends to shorter time to all nutrition by mouth and less EER are starting to appear in the 20-44 months age group. These findings may lead to the emergence of ideal tube weaning age with support of a structured and supported multidisciplinary feeding clinic model and tube weaning program.
Comments
Poster Board Number: 22