Recovery of oral intake after initiation of tube feeding: Clinical experience from a Japanese rehabilitation ward

Introduction/Background Tube feeding plays an important role in managing their nutritional needs of dysphagic patients. Although nasogastric feeding (NG) can be useful for the short-term, percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) is usually the route of choice for long-term tube feeding. In this study, we analyzed the current situation of tube feeding and the recovery of oral intake after dysphagia therapy in our rehabilitation ward. Material and method Patients admitted into our rehabilitation ward between January 2012 and December 2016 were screened. Patients who were intubated (NG or PEG tube) when warded and patients who required intubation after admission due to insufficient oral intake were included in our analysis. Results A total of 1129 patients were admitted into our rehabilitation ward during the five year period. At admission, 1036 (92%) patients were fed orally, 63 (5%) patients received PEG tube feeding and 30 (3%) patients received NG feeding. Out of the 30 patients receiving NG feeding, 11 patients improved to full oral feeding whereas 19 patients required PEG tube placements after admission. Out of the 63 patients who receive PEG tube feeding, 22 patients recovered to full oral feeding at discharge. 7 patients from the 1036 patients who were fed orally at admission eventually required PEG tube placements, with 6 of them recovering partial oral feeding upon discharge. More than two thirds of tube feeding patients recovered at least partial oral intake upon discharge from our rehabilitation ward. More than half of patients who received PEG tube placement recovered full oral intake upon discharge. Conclusion The majority of tube-fed patients resumed at least partial oral intake after dysphagia therapy. Tube feeding plays an integral role in providing the nutritional needs of patients with dysphagia, and along with rehabilitation therapy, may contribute to the recovery of swallowing function.