Home-Based Feeding Tube Weaning

Tube‐weaning infants and children: A survey of Australian and international practice

“…Limited contact affects the intensity of the intervention approach, potentially extending the process and causing more anxiety for families . There are limited data to guide selection of optimal practice location for paediatric tube weaning, but considerations include medical history and fragility, child/family psychological state and patient comfort…”

“…With age and health improvements, the majority of tube‐fed infants develop the capacity to feed orally, and tube weaning is a therapeutic goal promoting quality of life . Numerous feeding‐tube weaning programmes exist internationally, but there is limited literature regarding the efficacy and safety of these programmes . To date there has been no published assessment of Australian paediatric tube weaning programmes, nor a comparison with international practice.…”

Rapid home-based weaning of small children with feeding tube dependency: positive effects on feeding behaviour without deceleration of growth

“…Two studies show that the success rate in younger patients is comparable or lower with 47–80% to the success rate of older patients 4 9. The rigorous selection process may have influenced the outcome but a recent follow-up study with less rigorous selection methods did not observe different outcomes 16. While it has been questioned whether weaning programmes have to be intense,9 studies show that a high treatment intensity is associated with a higher success rate,5 8 less weight loss5 and more rapid tube withdrawal5 8 16 than programmes with a lower treatment intensity 3 6 7 9…”

“…A home-based tube-weaning programme was also established in the USA in 2011, while home-based weaning are applied in private practice in other countries 16. The treatment costs are relatively low ($9000−$25 000) compared to inpatient programmes ($17 000−$130 000)7 or continued tube feeding ($16 320–54 000 per year) 7.…”

Long‐term Outcomes of an Interdisciplinary Tube Weaning Program

“…In these cases, supervised tube weaning is necessary. There are a few programs world-wide that offer tube weaning programs based on different approaches (10): hunger provocation (11), behavioral treatment (12,13), use of medication (14,15), homebased treatment (16,17), or multidisciplinary programs in inpatient, outpatient, or telemedical settings (18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24).…”