Journal of Clinical Nutrition & Dietetics

Perspective on Vegan Nutrition

Background: Gastrostomy tube (gastrostomy) placement is an increasingly common procedure in children requiring alternative means of nutrition. Pediatric patients have been shown to tolerate Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy (PEG) placement. Pain management is a chief concern in the care of children and often involves the use of opiates. Lidocaine Procaine Cream (LPC) has demonstrated emerging effectiveness for pain management in a myriad of pediatric procedures with minimal side effects. Our study aims to determine whether LPC cream can decrease the need for narcotics during post-operative pain management following PEG pediatric patients.

Methods: This retrospective study involved the review of patient charts from January 2015 to May 2017 who underwent gastrostomy placement. Primary endpoints studied included demographic information, length of stay, medication reconciliation, complications, and hospital costs.

Results: 59 patient records were reviewed for study inclusion (mean age 5.0 ± 5.4 years, 57.6% male, and 15.0 ± 12.1 kg). LPC was provided to 57% (n=34) subjects which was associated with decreased Morphine Milligram Equivalent doses (MME), P=00.01, shorter hospitalization stay (mean days difference 13.74 ± 5.62, median days difference=1), P=0.018 and decreased cost of hospitalization.

Conclusion: Our study is the first to characterize the effectiveness of LPC cream in the management of postoperative pain following gastrostomy placement in paediatric patients. Our team demonstrated that patients with LPC cream, regardless of gastrostomy technique employed, required fewer weight-based MME doses, a shorter hospital stay, and decreased hospital costs.

Author(s):

Sukkahs Hercules*

Abstract | Full-Text | PDF

Share this