Experience with image‐guided gastrostomy and gastrojejunostomy tubes in children and adolescents with primary psychiatric illness

Objective: To investigate the clinical experience with G/GJ tubes in child and adolescent psychiatry patients with disordered eating. Method: Health Records and Image‐Guided Therapy databases (1995–2005) identified patients with primary psychiatric illness who received radiologically placed G/GJ tubes for refeeding. Patient charts were reviewed for relevant data. Results: Nine patients who were 11–17 years old had G/GJ tubes inserted for refeeding as a result of their psychopathology. Prior to G/GJ tube insertion, adolescent inpatients were fed by NG/NJ tube for 0.5–7.3 months (mean 3.1 months) and subsequently fed by G/GJ tube for 5–60 months (mean 29 months) on an outpatient basis. No major complications or episodes of intentional tube manipulation/removal occurred. G/GJ tube feeding was effective in restoring and/or maintaining weight. Conclusion: Image‐guided enterostomy tubes are a safe and well‐tolerated method for feeding pediatric patients with psychiatric disorders and food refusal, and allow outpatient management of underlying psychopathology. © 2007 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.