Home Artificial Nutrition in Polish Children: An Analysis of 9-Year National Healthcare Provider Data

Home Enteral Nutrition in Patients with Cerebral Palsy in the Years 2012-2022: A Longitudinal Analysis of Data from the National Health Fund of Poland

BACKGROUND

Cerebral palsy (CP) often correlates with a higher risk of malnutrition, negatively affecting the quality of life of patients and their families. Enteral nutrition via a feeding tube should be considered to improve the nutritional status of CP patients. To date, there has been no nationwide registry of patients with CP in Poland. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of home enteral nutrition (HEN) provision in pediatric and adult patients with CP.

METHODS

We retrospectively analyzed data from the Polish National Health Fund (NFZ) on the provision of HEN in patients with CP in 2012-2022. A specially designed and validated questionnaire was sent to the 16 regional branches of NFZ.

RESULTS

Completed questionnaires were sent back from 12 NFZ branches. In 2022, CP cases increased by 7%, primarily among adults, while pediatric cases dropped by 21%. Despite a rising trend, the proportion of patients receiving HEN remained relatively low. Among children, it increased from 2.1% in 2012 to 3.3-3.5% in 2019-2021. For adults, it nearly doubled from 0.8% in 2012 to 1.7% in 2022. The prevalence of enteral feeding correlated with patient age, with a noticeable increase among older children and adolescents.

CONCLUSIONS

National Health Fund data highlight the need for a nationwide registry of patients with CP. A relatively small proportion of pediatric and adult CP patients receive HEN. Increasing clinicians' awareness of HEN availability is necessary to improve the quality of life for more CP patients.

[The registers of pediatric patients with home artificial nutrition. The Spanish experience]

Introduction

Background: the number of infants and children who receive artificial nutrition at home has been steadily increasing over the last decades, as better outcomes for children with chronic conditions have been achieved. In order to evaluate the need of resources to implement the technique it is necessary to know how many patients benefit from home artificial nutrition. This information can be estimated from the register of patients, when available. Methods: in this paper the characteristics of all registers were reviewed, especially those devoted to pediatric patients. Results: only two pediatric registers are active in 2023: the Canadian register and the Spanish one. NADYA register from the Spanish Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (SENPE) and the recent REPAFI, form the Spanish Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition. The most valuable register from the British Society, BANS, stopped providing information in 2018. Conclusion: despite the fact of acknowledging the importance of having gathered information on the prevalence and incidence of home artificial nutrition, to fit resources to necessities, the number of active registers is quite short.

Trends and challenges in home enteral feeding methods for children with gastrointestinal disorders: an expert review on bolus feeding delivery methods

INTRODUCTION

New evidence supports the benefits of bolus feeding for children receiving home enteral feeding (HEN). Current home methods of bolus feeding have certain limitations, particularly in mobile or restless patients. Therefore, innovative delivery methods have been introduced to provide more flexible methods of reducing feeding time and formula handling.

AREAS COVERED

This manuscript presents an expert review of the updates in HEN for children and the results of an online user experience questionnaire about an innovative new cap-based bolus feeding system. A literature bibliographic search was conducted on Medline via PubMed up to September 2023 to collect relevant studies. We presented recent evidence demonstrating a dramatic increase in HEN use among children requiring EN and its benefits on patients' nutritional status and quality of life. In addition, the article examined the clinical and social benefits of bolus feeding and current challenges in delivery methods. We described the benefits of the new system and its user experience.

EXPERT OPINION

The uses and indications for bolus feeding in HEN are increasing among children. However, there are still some unmet needs regarding traditional delivery methods. Innovative techniques can improve flexibility, reduce feeding time, and improve user experience and quality of life.

Continuous Glucose Monitoring in Enterally Fed Children with Severe Central Nervous System Impairment

Children with severe central nervous system (CNS) impairment are at risk of developing various degrees of nutritional deficit that require long-term nutritional intervention. Interventions are most often implemented through enteral nutrition (EN) using commercially manufactured feeds administered via gastro/jejunostomy or nasogastric or nasojejunal tubes. The modality of feeding-continuous feeding or bolus feeding-is dependent on the function of the gastrointestinal tract, particularly the efficiency of gastric emptying. In the literature, the relationship between this type of nutrition and the occurrence of hyperglycaemia is often discussed. In addition, children with chronic neurological diseases are vulnerable to disorders of many mechanisms of neurohormonal counter-regulation related to carbohydrate management, and due to limited verbal and logical contact, it is difficult to recognise the symptoms of hypoglycaemia in such patients. We aimed to assess the carbohydrate metabolism in children with severe CNS impairment, with enteral nutrition delivered via nasogastric, nasoenteral, or percutaneous tubes, based on continuous glycaemic monitoring (CGM) and the measurement of glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) levels.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This prospective, observational study included nineteen patients (median (25-75 pc) age: 12.75 (6.17-15.55) years) with permanent CNS damage (Gross Motor Function Classification System V) receiving long-term tube enteral feeding, recruited from two paediatric university nutritional treatment centres. Patients with acute conditions and diagnosed diabetes were excluded. The nutritional status and nutritional support were analysed in all the inpatients in accordance with a uniform protocol. Using the CGM system (Medtronic iPro2), glycaemic curves were analysed, and in addition, HbA1C levels were determined in fourteen patients. CGM results were analysed using GlyCulator2.0. Statistical analysis was performed using the Statistica version 11 software (StatSoft Inc. Tulsa, OK, USA).

RESULTS

More than half (11/19; 58%) of the patients were undernourished (BMI < 3 pc for age and gender), with the stature age being significantly lower than calendar age (5 (4.5-9) vs. 12.75 (6.17-15.55) years; p = 0.0010). The actual caloric intake was 50 (37.7-68.8) kcal/kg (median; 25-75 pc). In patients fed using the bolus method, the number of calories consumed per day was statistically significantly higher than in children subjected to a continuous feeding supply (56.00 (41.00-75.00) vs. 33.40 (26.70-50.00) kcal/kg BW (body weight; p = 0.0159). Decreases in blood glucose levels below the alarm level (<70 mg/dL) were recorded in fifteen patients (78.9%), including two patients with episodes of clinically significant hypoglycaemia (<54 mg/dL). The minimum and maximum glycaemic values recorded in any individual CGM records were 67 mg/dL (median) (minimum: 41 mg/dL; maximum: 77 mg/dL) and 146 (minimum: 114 mg/dL; maximum: 180 g/dL), respectively, for the entire recording. The maximum percentage of glycaemic concentrations > 140 mg/dL (TAR 140) recorded overnight in children with BMI ≥ 3 amounted to 1.6% vs. 0% in undernourished patients (TAR 140: 0.0 (0.00-1.6%) vs. 0% (0.00-0.0%; p = 0.0375); the percentage of glycaemic concentrations <70 mg/dL in the entire recording was comparable (0.77% (0.13-2.2%) vs. 1.8% (0.5-14.4%) vs. p = 0.2629). There was a positive correlation between the mean daily glucose recorded using the CGM method and patients' BMI z-scores (R = 0.48, p = 0.0397). No statistically significant relationship was demonstrated between the occurrence of alarm hypoglycaemia events in the CGM records and undernutrition expressed by BMI z-scores (OR = 1.50 (95%CI: 0.16-13.75), the type of diet (for commercially manufactured OR = 0.36 (95%CI: 0.04-3.52), and the modality of diet delivery (for bolus feeding OR = 2.75 (95%CI: 0.28-26.61).

CONCLUSIONS

In children with chronic OU damage, enteral feeding is associated with a risk of hypoglycaemia, but further studies involving a larger number of patients are needed, and CGM might be a useful tool to estimate the metabolic adequacy of enteral nutritional support in terms of glucose control.