Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Dec 30;4(1):e278.
doi: 10.1097/PG9.0000000000000278. eCollection 2023 Feb.

The Community Cost of Maintaining Gastrostomies in Pediatric Patients

Jasmine Makker  1 , Caroline Pardy  2 , Veronica Kelly  3   4 , Iain Yardley  1   2
Affiliations

The Community Cost of Maintaining Gastrostomies in Pediatric Patients

Jasmine Makker et al. JPGN Rep. .

Abstract

The use of gastrostomies in children is increasing and their need for long-term management following insertion presents a potentially significant financial and resource challenge to local healthcare systems.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the yearly cost of maintaining a gastrostomy in a pediatric patient.

Methods: A retrospective, bottom-up cost-analysis was conducted in a cohort of 180 patients with gastrostomies aged 0-19 years. One in 5 patients were randomly selected for individual cost analysis (n = 36). Their electronic health record was interrogated from the period of March 1, 2019-March 1, 2020. Costs included in the analysis were staff contact time from the community nursing and nutrition teams, and equipment costs.

Results: The mean cost of maintaining a pediatric gastrostomy across all ages was £709.87 (SD 403.18) per year. Mean annual cost varied by age, underlying diagnosis, and gastrostomy device, but this variation was only statistically significant for the type of device, with Mic-Key buttons having a mean annual cost of £834.66 (SD 307.85), Mini buttons £799.06 (SD 395.01), and percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tubes £279.34 (SD 297.45; P = 0.004).

Conclusion: The mean cost of maintaining a gastrostomy in a pediatric patient is just over £700 per year. The cost is the highest as a child enters adulthood. Button devices have higher maintenance costs compared with percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tubes.

Keywords: economic; financial; public health.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1.
FIGURE 1.
The median time spent on the different types of visits for the 4 age groups.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Pardy C, Kharma N, Lau R, et al. . Point prevalence of gastrostomy in a paediatric population. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2020;72:528–531. - PubMed
    1. Duncan H, Painesi A, Buchanan E, et al. . Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy placement in paediatric Crohn’s disease patients contributes to both improved nutrition and growth. Acta Paediatr. 2018;107:1094–1099. - PubMed
    1. Avitsland TL, Kristensen C, Emblem R, et al. . Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy in children: a safe technique with major symptom relief and high parental satisfaction. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2006;43:624–628. - PubMed
    1. Sullivan PB, Juszczak E, Bachlet AM, et al. . Impact of gastrostomy tube feeding on the quality of life of carers of children with cerebral palsy. Dev Med Child Neurol. 2004;46:796–800. - PubMed
    1. Corry J, Poon W, McPhee N, et al. . Prospective study of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tubes versus nasogastric tubes for enteral feeding in patients with head and neck cancer undergoing (chemo)radiation. Head Neck. 2009;31:867–876. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources