Gastro-esophageal Reflux After Laparoscopic Gastrostomy Placement in Children

Prophylactic anti-reflux procedure for children undergoing laparoscopic gastrostomy: Rethinking of the routine practice

AIM

Laparoscopic gastrostomy is a frequently performed procedure in children requiring long-term enteral nutrition. The role of prophylactic anti-reflux surgery during gastrostomy placements is controversial. The current study aims to evaluate the role of prophylactic anti-reflux procedures during gastrostomy placement.

METHODS

A retrospective single-center analysis of all children without reflux receiving laparoscopic gastrostomy from January 2005 through December 2021 was performed. Demographics and clinical outcomes were compared between patients receiving gastrostomy placement alone and patients receiving gastrostomy with prophylactic anti-reflux surgery.

RESULTS

A total of 79 patients had a confirmed absence of reflux by a 24-h pH/impedance study before operation. Thirty-six of these patients underwent prophylactic anti-reflux surgery (PAR) while 43 received gastrostomy (PG) alone. The operative time and conversion rate were significantly higher in the PAR group (140.5 ± 67.5 vs. 80.2 ± 66.8 min, p = 0.0001 and 8.3% vs. 0%, p = 0.04). There were no major complications in either group. De novo reflux was detected in five patients (11.6%) in the PG group. None of these patients progressed to require anti-reflux surgery.

CONCLUSION

The occurrence of de novo reflux after laparoscopic gastrostomy was low and could be managed without anti-reflux surgery. A routine pre-operative pH study is helpful for appropriate patient selection to avoid unnecessary anti-reflux surgery, which lengthens operative time and increases the conversion rate.

Blended diet for enteral tube feeding in young people: A systematic review of the benefits and complications

BACKGROUND

Interest and use of blended diets (BD) for young people who are tube fed has significantly increased in the last decade, driven primarily by the desires of motivated caregivers. This review identified, appraised and synthesised the available evidence on the benefits and complications of BD versus commercial feeds.

METHODS

A systematic review following PRISMA guidance and registered with PROSPERO was conducted across PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, Scopus and Cochrane up to August 2022.

INCLUSION CRITERIA

English language studies including (1) children, (2) original research (interventional and observational) and (3) examination of BD outcomes. Exclusion criteria were (1) unoriginal research or case reports, (2) focus on feeding management, preparations or attitudes and (3) comparing commercial blends only. Data were synthesised using an established narrative synthesis approach using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool.

RESULTS

Eight hundred and six database results were identified and 61 were sought for retrieval. A full-text article review revealed seven eligible studies, involving 267 participants (age range 9 months to 26 years). Studies reported differences in gastrointestinal symptoms (n = 222), medication use (n = 119), growth (n = 189) and complications or adverse events (n = 91). The results indicate positive outcomes, particularly in gastrointestinal symptom control, with few reports of mild adverse events in the included studies.

CONCLUSIONS

There is a paucity of data in this area and much heterogeneity in the included studies, but the available literature points towards positive outcomes. This is an important and highly relevant topic, and more primary research, ideally using standardised reporting, is required to answer the key questions.

Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease in children with neurological impairment: a retrospective cohort study

OBJECTIVES

To determine the incidence and prevalence of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GERD) diagnosis and treatment in children with neurological impairment (NI) along with relationship to key variables.

DESIGN

This is a population-based retrospective cohort study.

SETTING

This study takes place in Alberta, Canada.

PATIENTS

Children with NI were identified by hospital-based International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes from 2006 to 2018.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Incidence and prevalence of a GERD diagnosis identified by: (1) hospital-based ICD-10 codes; (2) specialist claims; (3) dispensation of acid-suppressing medication (ASM). Age, gender, complex chronic conditions (CCC) and technology assistance were covariates.

RESULTS

Among 10 309 children with NI, 2772 (26.9%) met the GERD definition. The unadjusted incidence rate was 52.1 per 1000 person-years (50.2-54.1). Increasing numbers of CCCs were associated with a higher risk of GERD. The HR for GERD associated with a gastrostomy tube was 4.56 (95% CI 4.15 to 5.00). Overall, 2486 (24.1%) of the children were treated with ASMs of which 1535 (61.7%) met no other GERD criteria. The incidence rate was 16.9 dispensations per year (95% CI 16.73 to 17.07). The prevalence of gastrojejunostomy tubes was 1.1% (n=121), surgical jejunostomy tubes was 0.7% (n=79) and fundoplication was 3.4% (n=351).

CONCLUSIONS

The incidence of GERD in children with NI greatly exceeds that of the general paediatric population. Similarly, incidence rate of medication dispensations was closer to the rates seen in adults particularly in children with multiple CCCs and gastrostomy tubes. Further research is needed to determine the appropriate use of ASMs balancing the potential for adverse effects in this population.

Influence of laparoscopy-aided gastrostomy on gastroesophageal reflux in neurologically impaired patients using multichannel intraluminal impedance pH measurements

BACKGROUND

Development of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) after gastrostomy remains debatable. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate whether laparoscopy-aided gastrostomy (LAG) influence on the occurrence of GERD in neurologically impaired (NI) patients. Furthermore, we investigated whether preoperatively excluding NI patients with GERD can reduce the number of patients requiring subsequent anti-reflux surgery (ARS) after LAG.

METHODS

This retrospective study included 35 NI patients (median age: 11.0; interquartile range 5.0-23.5 years) who underwent LAG according to our criterion from October 2012 to June 2020 and MII-pH before and after LAG. MII-pH parameters were compared in all patients and among three age groups between before and after LAG.

RESULTS

There were no significant differences in MII-pH parameters before and 1 year after LAG in all patients, and no patient underwent subsequent ARS. Only one paediatric patient with 64 number of reflux episodes before LAG required subsequent ARS 3 years after LAG.

CONCLUSIONS

Generally, LAG did not influence the postoperative GERD at 1 year after LAG, and our criteria could reduce the number of patients requiring subsequent ARS. However, paediatric NI patients with higher number of reflux episodes in preoperative MII-pH study may need careful long-term follow-up after LAG.

A Retrospective Review of Primary Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy and Laparoscopic Gastrostomy Tube Placement

OBJECTIVES

The laparoscopic-assisted gastrostomy tube placement (LAP) has increasingly become the preferred method for placing gastrostomy tubes in infants and children. The goal of this retrospective review was to examine our institutional experiences with our transition from the percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) procedure to LAP technique.

METHODS

All patients undergoing primary PEG or LAP gastrostomy at Boston Children's Hospital between January 2010 and June 2015 were identified. The primary aim was to compare complication rates within the first 6 months after tube placement; differences in total hospital procedural costs, hospital resource utilization, and postoperative gastroesophageal reflux disease were examined.

RESULTS

Nine hundred and eighty-seven patients (442 PEG and 545 LAP gastrostomy tubes) were included. No differences in total complications within 6 months were seen. Patients undergoing PEG placement had more gastrostomy-related complications (PEG 30 [6.7%] vs LAP 13 [2.4%], P = 0.0007) and cellulitis (PEG 23 [5.1%] vs LAP 2 [0.4%], P = 0.03) within the first week of placement. Patients undergoing LAP procedures had more granulation tissue episodes (PEG 19 [4.4%] vs LAP 107 [19.8%], P = 0.005). No differences in emergency room visits, hospital readmissions, or postoperative gastroesophageal reflux disease were seen, although transition to a gastrojejunal tube was higher in patients undergoing LAP procedure (PEG 20 patients [4.6%] vs LAP 51 patients [9.5%], P = 0.0008).

CONCLUSIONS

Total complications were similar between patients undergoing PEG versus LAP gastrostomy tube placement. Patients with the PEG procedure had more complications within the first week of placement versus patients with the LAP procedure had more granulation skin complications.

Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy in Children: An Update to the ESPGHAN Position Paper

BACKGROUND

The European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition (ESPGHAN) position paper from 2015 on percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) required updating in the light of recent clinical knowledge and data published in medical journals since 2014.

METHODS

A systematic review of medical literature from 2014 to 2020 was carried out. Consensus on the content of the manuscript, including recommendations, was achieved by the authors through electronic and virtual means. The expert opinion of the authors is also expressed in the manuscript when there was a lack of good scientific evidence regarding PEGs in children in the literature.

RESULTS

The authors recommend that the indication for a PEG be individualized, and that the decision for PEG insertion is arrived at by a multidisciplinary team (MDT) having considered all appropriate circumstances. Well timed enteral nutrition is optimal to treat faltering growth to avoid complications of malnutrition and body composition. Timing, device choice and method of insertion is dependent on the local expertise and after due consideration with the MDT and family. Major complications such as inadvertent bowel perforation should be avoided by attention to good technique and by ensuring the appropriate experience of the operating team. Feeding can be initiated as early as 3 hours after tube placement in a stable child with iso-osmolar feeds of standard polymeric formula. Low-profile devices can be inserted initially using the single-stage procedure or after 2-3 months by replacing a standard PEG tube, in those requiring longer-term feeding. Having had a period of non-use and reliance upon oral intake for growth and weight gain-typically 8-12 weeks-a PEG may then safely be removed after due consultation. In the event of non-closure of the fistula the most successful method for closing it, to date, has been a surgical procedure, but the Over-The-Scope-Clip (OTSC) has recently been used with considerable success in this scenario.

CONCLUSIONS

A multidisciplinary approach is mandatory for the best possible treatment of children with PEGs. Morbidity and mortality are minimized through team decisions on indications for insertion, adequate planning and preparation before the procedure, subsequent monitoring of patients, timing of the change to low-profile devices, management of any complications, and optimal timing of removal of the PEG.

Pre- and Postgastrostomy Evaluation of Gastroesophageal Reflux in Children Using 24-Hour pH Monitoring

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate 24-hour pH monitoring results before and after gastrostomy in neurological impaired (NI) children who underwent gastrostomy or Nissen fundoplication (NF) concurrently with gastrostomy. Materials and Methods: Between March and December 2018, NI patients who had previously received pre- and postgastrostomy (Group 1) or gastrostomy + NF (Group 2) underwent pH monitoring pre- and postoperatively. Results: Twenty patients [12 males (60%) and the median age of 5.6 (14 months-14.7 years) years] with NI were followed up during the study period. When pre- and postgastrostomy weight and BMI z-scores were compared, the results were significantly higher in both groups after procedure (P = .043, P = .040, respectively). The clinical results of the patients after the operation showed improvement in both groups. The pH index of Group 1 (n = 11) was 2.32 (0-3.8) before gastrostomy and 3.18 (2.1-6.9) after gastrostomy (P = .061) and in Group 2 (n = 9) it was 5.85 (4.9-15.8) and 0.61 (0.3-1.3), before and after procedure (P < .001). There was a statistically significant difference in reflux index of each group. This difference was not statistically significant between the groups (P = .072). When the total bolus exposure index was compared, it was 4.01 (2.1-5.2) before gastrostomy and 5.67 (4.6-6.3) after gastrostomy in Group 1 (P = .041). In group 2, that index was found to be 9.8 (8.3-10.2) before and 1.28 (0.5-1.4) after (P < .001). There was a statistically significant difference in index after gastrostomy in Groups 1 and 2 (P = .023). Conclusions: Gastrostomy feeding is an effective and safe option to achieve enteral feeding in NI children. NF concurrent with gastrostomy should be decided according to the individual patient. Clinical trials protocol registration ID number was PRS NCT00445112.