TREATMENT OF SEVERE FEEDING REFUSAL IN INFANTS AND TODDLERS

Infants recovering from medical and surgical disorders frequently requ ire nonoral feeding. Alternate methods of providing nutrition may be c omplicated by the development of an aversion to oral feedings, resulti ng in a delay in the resumption of normal feeding pattern and possibly nonorganic failure to thrive. The purpose of this study was to examin e retrospectively the effectiveness of an inpatient multidisciplinary program for treatment of severe feeding refusal, using a modified meth od of rapid introduction of oral feedings. Medical records were review ed of all patients (19) treated in the Infant Feeding Program at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, Texas, from 1985 to 1993. At entry, a ll patients were fed greater than 95% by nasogastric or gastrostomy tu be. Following the program, the majority of patients (12) were successf ully converted to total oral feedings over a reasonably short period o f time.