Feeding tube

From MEpedia, a crowd-sourced encyclopedia of ME and CFS science and history

A feeding tube or use of enteral nutrition is a way to manage certain severe gastrointestinal problems or to increase food intake in a small number of patients with severe ME/CFS.[1]

Feeding tubes typically refer to use of a catheter (narrow tube) to deliver liquid nutrition directly into part of the gastrointestinal tract, eg the jejunum or stomach.

Theory[edit | edit source]

Feeding can take place when severe gastroparesis patients prevents food being digested quickly enough by placing a tube lower in the digestive tract.[2]

Types[edit | edit source]

NG tube[edit | edit source]

A nasogastric tube is a tube from the nose through the esophagus and into the stomach.[3]

NJ tube[edit | edit source]

A nasojejunal tube goes from the nose through the esophagus and stomach, and then into the small intestine.[3]

PEG tube[edit | edit source]

A percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) feeding tube goes directly into the stomach, bypassing the nose, mouth and esophagus. A gastrostomy (surgery) is needed to place it into the stomach.[4]

PEJ tube[edit | edit source]

A jejunostomy surgery is needed to insert a percutaneous endoscopic jejunostomy (PEJ) or PEJ tube through the skin and directly into the small intestine, bypassing the nose, mouth, esophagus and stomach.[4]

Total parenteral nutrition[edit | edit source]

Parenteral nutrition refers to nutrition delivered intravenously through a central line near the top of the chest. Total parenteral nutrition or TPN is the use of patenteral nutritional to fulfill all dietary needs (without eating).

TPN requires surgery to place an IV tube into a vein, bypassing the gastrointestinal tract entirely.[5]

Evidence[edit | edit source]

No studies have investigated the effects of the feeding, it is typically a last resort.

Patients who have used feeding tubes for ME/CFS include:

News and articles[edit | edit source]

Alice Barrett, a young British woman with very severe ME/CFS was initially denied feeding through her NG-tube while in hospital because she was unable to sit upright enough for her NG tube to be at a 30 degree angle. The hospital only changed its policy to allow parents went public with the risk of Alice dying from starvation caused by the hospital's policy.

Notable studies[edit | edit source]

  • 2021, Life-Threatening Malnutrition in Very Severe ME/CFS[6] - (Full text)
  • 2021, Extremely Severe ME/CFS—A Personal Account[7] - (Full text)

Clinicians[edit | edit source]

Risks and safety[edit | edit source]

Feeding tubes carry varying degrees of risk, including risks of surgery, complications from incorrect placement, risk of infection, and risk of nutritional deficiencies or complications from the feed used.

Risks of not using a feeding tube are also expected to be taken into account, for example continuing severe and rapid weight loss, becoming too weak from lack of food to swallow food,[8] and life-threatening malnutrition. Risks from a TPN are significantly more than from nasal feeding tubes.

Costs and availability[edit | edit source]

Generally these require hospital treatment to insert or check.

See also[edit | edit source]

Learn more[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. Jamieson, Nicole C.; Tadi, Prasanna (September 29, 2021). Feeding Tube. StatPearls Publishing. PMID 32644470.
  2. "Home enteral nutrition". Mayo Clinic. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
  3. 3.0 3.1 "Tube Feeding". Gastroparesis Australia. August 13, 2018. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  4. 4.0 4.1 "About the Placement of Your PEG or PEJ Tube for Feeding". Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  5. "Total parenteral nutrition". MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
  6. Baxter, Helen; Speight, Nigel; Weir, William (April 2021). "Life-Threatening Malnutrition in Very Severe ME/CFS". Healthcare. 9 (4): 459. doi:10.3390/healthcare9040459. PMC 8070213. PMID 33919671.
  7. Dafoe, Whitney (May 2021). "Extremely Severe ME/CFS—A Personal Account". Healthcare. 9 (5): 504. doi:10.3390/healthcare9050504. PMC 8145314. PMID 33925566.
  8. Burke, Dave (January 31, 2022). "Girl, 11, using feeding tube to eat a year after Covid left her too weak to move". The Mirror.