Blended foods for tube-fed children: a safe and realistic option?: a rapid review of the evidence

With the growing number of children and young people with complex care needs or life-limiting conditions, alternative routes for nutrition have been established (such as gastrostomy feeding). The conditions of children and young people who require such feeding are diverse but could relate to problem...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Coad, Jane, Toft, Alex, Lapwood, Susie, Manning, Joseph, Hunter, Mark, Jenkins, Huw, Sadlier, Clare, Hammonds, Julie, Kennedy, Ailsa, Murch, Simon, Widdas, David
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ 2017
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/55078/
_version_ 1848799114184097792
author Coad, Jane
Toft, Alex
Lapwood, Susie
Manning, Joseph
Hunter, Mark
Jenkins, Huw
Sadlier, Clare
Hammonds, Julie
Kennedy, Ailsa
Murch, Simon
Widdas, David
author_facet Coad, Jane
Toft, Alex
Lapwood, Susie
Manning, Joseph
Hunter, Mark
Jenkins, Huw
Sadlier, Clare
Hammonds, Julie
Kennedy, Ailsa
Murch, Simon
Widdas, David
author_sort Coad, Jane
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description With the growing number of children and young people with complex care needs or life-limiting conditions, alternative routes for nutrition have been established (such as gastrostomy feeding). The conditions of children and young people who require such feeding are diverse but could relate to problems with swallowing (dysphagia), digestive disorders or neurological/muscular disorders. However, the use of a blended diet as an alternative to prescribed formula feeds for children fed via a gastrostomy is a contentious issue for clinicians and researchers. From a rapid review of the literature, we identify that current evidence falls into three categories: (1) those who feel that the use of a blended diet is unsafe and substandard; (2) those who see benefits of such a diet as an alternative in particular circumstances (eg, to reduce constipation) and (3) those who see merit in the blended diet but are cautious to proclaim potential benefits due to the lack of clinical research. There may be some benefits to using blended diets, although concerns around safety, nutrition and practical issues remain.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T20:30:31Z
format Article
id nottingham-55078
institution University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus
institution_category Local University
language English
last_indexed 2025-11-14T20:30:31Z
publishDate 2017
publisher BMJ
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling nottingham-550782018-09-21T11:08:46Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/55078/ Blended foods for tube-fed children: a safe and realistic option?: a rapid review of the evidence Coad, Jane Toft, Alex Lapwood, Susie Manning, Joseph Hunter, Mark Jenkins, Huw Sadlier, Clare Hammonds, Julie Kennedy, Ailsa Murch, Simon Widdas, David With the growing number of children and young people with complex care needs or life-limiting conditions, alternative routes for nutrition have been established (such as gastrostomy feeding). The conditions of children and young people who require such feeding are diverse but could relate to problems with swallowing (dysphagia), digestive disorders or neurological/muscular disorders. However, the use of a blended diet as an alternative to prescribed formula feeds for children fed via a gastrostomy is a contentious issue for clinicians and researchers. From a rapid review of the literature, we identify that current evidence falls into three categories: (1) those who feel that the use of a blended diet is unsafe and substandard; (2) those who see benefits of such a diet as an alternative in particular circumstances (eg, to reduce constipation) and (3) those who see merit in the blended diet but are cautious to proclaim potential benefits due to the lack of clinical research. There may be some benefits to using blended diets, although concerns around safety, nutrition and practical issues remain. BMJ 2017-03-01 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/55078/1/2017-%20Coad-Manning%20-%20A%20rapid%20review%20-%20ADC.pdf Coad, Jane, Toft, Alex, Lapwood, Susie, Manning, Joseph, Hunter, Mark, Jenkins, Huw, Sadlier, Clare, Hammonds, Julie, Kennedy, Ailsa, Murch, Simon and Widdas, David (2017) Blended foods for tube-fed children: a safe and realistic option?: a rapid review of the evidence. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 102 (3). pp. 274-278. ISSN 1468-2044 http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2016-311030 doi:10.1136/archdischild-2016-311030 doi:10.1136/archdischild-2016-311030
spellingShingle Coad, Jane
Toft, Alex
Lapwood, Susie
Manning, Joseph
Hunter, Mark
Jenkins, Huw
Sadlier, Clare
Hammonds, Julie
Kennedy, Ailsa
Murch, Simon
Widdas, David
Blended foods for tube-fed children: a safe and realistic option?: a rapid review of the evidence
title Blended foods for tube-fed children: a safe and realistic option?: a rapid review of the evidence
title_full Blended foods for tube-fed children: a safe and realistic option?: a rapid review of the evidence
title_fullStr Blended foods for tube-fed children: a safe and realistic option?: a rapid review of the evidence
title_full_unstemmed Blended foods for tube-fed children: a safe and realistic option?: a rapid review of the evidence
title_short Blended foods for tube-fed children: a safe and realistic option?: a rapid review of the evidence
title_sort blended foods for tube-fed children: a safe and realistic option?: a rapid review of the evidence
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/55078/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/55078/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/55078/