Abstract 16939: Tube-assisted Feeding is Associated With Worse Longitudinal Growth in Children With Single Ventricle Cardiac Disease

Introduction: Children with single ventricle cardiac disease (SVCD) have poor growth in early life. Tube-assisted feeding (TF) has increasingly been used to improve weight gain in SVCD patients, but little is known about its long-term effects on growth. We sought to compare the longitudinal growth of SVCD patients receiving TF at the time of hospital discharge after initial cardiac surgery with those fed entirely by mouth. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients who underwent initial surgical palliation for SVCD from 1999 to 2009, excluding premature infants ( Results: A total of 135 patients met inclusion criteria; 64% were male and 50% had HLHS. There were 44 patients (33%) in the TF group. Median weight z-score was significantly lower in the TF group at each year of life from ages 2 to 6 years (p Conclusions: Long-term growth of children with SVCD who require TF at hospital discharge is diminished compared to that of peers who are fed entirely by mouth. TF patients with SVCD do not experience catch-up growth during early childhood.