This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Thorne, S. E. Articles by Day, R. A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Thorne, S. E. Articles by Day, R. A. Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

A Comparative Longitudinal Study of Gastrostomy Devices in Children

University of British Columbia School of Nursing

M. Janice Radford

Sunny Hill Centre for Children, Vancouver, British Columbia

Judee E. Onyskiw, R.N., M.N.

Faculty of Nursing University of Alberta

Rene A. Day, R.N., Ph.D.

Faculty of Nursing University of Alberta

Long-term gastrostomy is a predictable intervention to ameliorate the effects offeeding and swallowing difficulties among children with severe spastic cerebral palsy. The evidence evaluating the efficacy and implications of the available gastrostomy devices in common use has focused primarily on the operative phase, ignoring the long-term effects that may be critical from a nurse's orfamily caregiver's point of view. In this study, the authors describe a sample of children with gastrostomy, comparing skin-level and tube devices on measures of nutritional outcome, complications, and caregiver satisfaction. In contrast to manufacturer's claims about the superiority of skin-level devices, the results presented here reveal few differences between the devices. The authors conclude, therefore, that device selection should be determined by individualized comprehensive assessment of the child andfamily circumstances.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?