The following is a summary of “Use of Blended Diets in Children With Enteral Feeding Tubes: A Joint Position Paper of the ESPGHAN Committees of Allied Health Professionals and Nutrition,” published in the January 2023 issue of Gastroenterology and Nutrition by Köglmeier, et al.

The joint position paper of the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPGHAN) Committees of Allied Health Professionals (CAHP) and Nutrition (CON) offered a thorough manual for medical professionals to manage blended meals in children via gastrostomy tubes.

Using Pubmed, MEDLINE, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, a comprehensive literature search from 1992 to 2021 was conducted, and current guidelines were examined. Recommendations represent the authors’ professional judgment in the lack of supporting data. The CAHP and CON had virtual sessions and exchanged several emails to get the final accord.

Blended diets were said to enhance defecation, alertness and attention span, skin issues, and the texture and look of hair and nails, in addition to reducing GERD and infections. In addition, families reported feeling more normal. The medical literature included short case series, cross-sectional studies, questionnaire-based small case studies, accounts of personal experience, and single-center pilot studies. On the basis of the findings and the consensus-building procedure, 20 suggestions for best practices were produced.

Little official information had been released on the technique’s possible health advantages or hazards and how to utilize it most effectively. As a result, there was a significant lack of guidance for healthcare professionals caring for such patients on what to take into account while discharging their duty of care to patients and caregivers who chose to use the technique of feeding. 

Reference: journals.lww.com/jpgn/Fulltext/2023/01000/The_Use_of_Blended_Diets_in_Children_With_Enteral.20