Overall Profile of a Pediatric Multidisciplinary Feeding Clinic.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the overall profile of children with feeding disorders and their relationships to medical conditions in an outpatient feeding clinic of a tertiary hospital.


METHODS
The medical records of 143 children who had visited the feeding clinic between January 2010 and June 2014 were reviewed retrospectively. The presence of a feeding disorder (feeding behavior disorder, dysphagia, and/or failure to thrive [FTT]) and the children's medical conditions were examined by a physiatrist.


RESULTS
Half of the patients (n=74, 51.7%) were under 15 months of age, and 68 (47.6%) were born preterm. Ninety-three patients (65.0%) met the criteria for any combination of feeding behavior disorder, dysphagia, or FTT. Cardiorespiratory disease was the most common medical condition; children with this condition were more likely to show sensory food aversion and FTT. Feeding behavior disorders were significantly associated with gastrointestinal problems, and dysphagia was significantly related to almost all medical conditions.


CONCLUSIONS
A multidisciplinary approach to children with feeding difficulties is proposed for comprehensive evaluation and treatment because combinations of feeding problems are very common among children. This overall profile could provide clinicians with a clear understanding of the complexity of feeding disorders and their relationships with various medical conditions in children.
Department of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Ji Sun
0000-0001-8579-5794
JS
Jung
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Samsung Changwon Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Changwon, Korea.
Hyun Jung
0000-0001-9126-4316
HJ
Chang
Department of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Jeong-Yi
0000-0003-2011-8834
JY
Kwon
Comorbidity; Dysphagia; Failure to thrive; Feeding behavior