Health-related quality of life in children after laparoscopic gastrostomy placement

INTRODUCTION: A gastrostomy placement (GP) is an established treatment to provide enteral feeding in pediatric patients with feeding difficulties aiming to improve nutritional status and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The aim of this study was to evaluate HRQoL in children with severe feeding difficulties who have undergone GP. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed including 128 patients who had undergone laparoscopic GP (2004–2011). HRQoL was evaluated using the validated Pediatric Quality of Life 4.0 Inventory. Multiple regression analysis was performed to identify predictors of HRQoL. RESULTS: After a mean follow-up of 4.0 years (interquartile range 2.9–6.2) after GP, mean HRQoL was 53.0 out of 100 (standard deviation 21.1). HRQoL was significantly lower in children with neurologic impairment, with a mean difference of −21.4 points between neurologically impaired and neurologically normal children (p < 0.001). HRQoL was also lower in children with cardiac disease (−19.0 points; p = 0.01) and in children with a history of previous gastrointestinal surgery (−15.2 points; p = 0.03). Feeding through a gastrojejunostomy tube (−33.0 points; p = 0.01) and higher age at the time of operation (−1.2 points per year; p = 0.03) were also associated with lower HRQoL. GP-related complications requiring reintervention were associated with lower HRQoL, although this association was not statistically significant (p = 0.06). CONCLUSIONS: Children with severe feeding difficulty, who have undergone GP, have significantly lower HRQoL compared to a healthy pediatric population. Neurologic impairment, cardiac disease, a history of gastrointestinal surgery, older age, and the need for jejunal feeding through the gastrostomy were predictive of even lower HRQoL.