Resident University of Colorado School of Medicine Denver, Colorado, United States
Background: Children with single ventricle heart disease are at risk for malnutrition and growth failure, given their baseline increased metabolic demand, and for delayed development of oral feeding skills, given their need for surgical intervention which can result in post-surgical hemodynamic instability, high levels of respiratory support, and prolonged hospitalization. Combined, these risk factors often result in reliance on gastrostomy (GT) or nasogastric feeding. While several studies have investigated ideal feeding strategies in the period between the stage 1 and stage 2 procedures, limited data exist to guide clinical practice after stage 2. With increasing survival in patients with single ventricle physiology, more work is needed to understand how feeding strategies impact children in the longer term and to guide feeding practices between stage 2 and stage 3. Objective: We aim to determine feeding outcomes in patients with single ventricle heart disease, including rates of and risk factors for GT placement, growth metrics at stage 2 and stage 3 procedures, and rates of GT removal/development of oral feeding skills at the time of the stage 3 procedure. Design/Methods: This study is IRB approved: Protocol #23-1208. This is a retrospective, single center study, and data will be collected from the electronic medical record between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2023. Inclusion criteria will be patients with single ventricle physiology who have undergone stage 1-3 palliation in this timeframe. Data will be de-identified and stored in a REDCap database. Data collected will include patient demographics, growth metrics, feeding modalities at presentation and hospital discharge from each stage, in-hospital complications, and mortality. We will perform statistical analysis using Stata. Analysis will include descriptive statistics, comparative testing between groups, and univariate and multivariate analyses to identify factors associated with various outcomes. Data collection: Oct - Dec 2023. Data analysis/presentation preparation: Jan - Mar 2024.
