Objectives and Study Children with complex needs who are gastrostomy fed are invariably prescribed commercially produced feeding diets to meet their nutritional requirements. Popularity of a blended diet in the UK is rapidly increasing with a call for better recognition.¹ Current published evidence is limited and hence no support from professional bodie. It is generally believed that blended diet through gastrostomy could have the potential risks of compromising nutritional stability, possible contamination and infection, and blockage of the tube.^2,3 On the other hand blended diet is also reported to have nutritional, social and economic benefits.^2,4 We would like to share one of our patient’s experience using blended diet through his gastrostomy. We believe by sharing this experience we will add to the evidence base for this evolving dietary practice.

Methods Our patient is a four year old boy who has a background history of hypoxic insult at birth resulting in the need for gastrostomy and fundoplication. We prospectively assessd his nutritional intake in the blended form.we performed accurate nutritional assessment and measured adequacy by blood tests.

Results Our patient tolerated the blended with improvement ingrowth velocit and reief from reflux symptoms. Only dietiary deficiency exhibited was borderline zinc deficiency which was corrected by additional supplementation.

Conclusion It is our experience that blended diet given via a gastrostomy provided to this child with appropriate dietician supervision was beneficial. We did not notice any gastrostomy tube blockage or gut related infections. It enabled family to feel more satisfied with their ability to provide their child what they felt was a “normal diet.” We believe that more research is required to fully understand the benefits and risks associated with these diets.

References

1. http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/62069

2. Novak P et al. The use of blenderized tube feedings. Infant Child Adolesc Nutr. 2009;1:21–23

3. Evans et al. Accuracy of home enteral feed preparation for children with inherited metabolic disorders. The British Dietetic Association Ltd. 2011 J Hum Nutr Diet. 2010;24:68–73

4. Pentuik S et al. Pureed by gastrostomy tube diet improves gagging and retching in children with fundoplication. JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr. 2011;35:375