Feeding of children with tracheostomy at hospital discharge

ABSTRACT Purpose: to describe the work of speech-language-hearing therapists and verify which was the most prevalent feeding method in the sample studied. Methods: a descriptive observational study based on data surveyed from medical records. The following variables were used: age, medical diagnosis, hospital ward, feeding method before and after the tracheostomy, time of speech-language-hearing care, and speech-language-hearing discharge. The data were submitted to descriptive statistical analysis with the appropriate tests to compare the categorical variables. All infants and children with tracheostomy performed either before or during hospital stay between July 2017 and July 2018, who received speech-language-hearing care upon request of the physician, were included. Results: a total of 51 children took part in the study, most of whom were males (56.9%), with a median age of 12 months, ranging from 1 month to 12 years old at the time of the speech-language-hearing assessment. The feeding methods at hospital discharge were described as follows: full oral feeding (37%), partial oral feeding (25.5%), nasogastric/nasoenteral tube (19.6%), and gastrostomy (17.6%). Conclusion: the full oral diet of tracheostomized children was the most prevalent feeding method at hospital speech-language-hearing discharge.