Prokinetic agents in childen with poor appetite.

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Gastroenterology
• Clinical Nutrition
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Poor appetite is a common pediatric feeding disorder, often linked to underlying gastric motility issues.
• Delayed gastric emptying can significantly impact a child's nutritional status and overall well-being.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the efficacy of prokinetic agents in treating poor appetite in children.
• To assess the impact of prokinetics on delayed gastric emptying and nutritional parameters.

Main Methods:

• Utilized visual analogue scale (VAS) for appetite grading and 99mTechnetium tincolloid scintigraphy for gastric emptying assessment.
• Administered trimebutine (a prokinetic agent) for 6 months alongside behavioral feeding recommendations.
• Monitored anthropometrical measurements, energy intake, and repeated scintigraphy during the study period.

Main Results:

• Significant improvements observed in weight and height standard deviation scores (p=0.008 and p=0.003, respectively).
• Malnutrition rates decreased from 81% to 66.7% following the intervention.
• Appetite scores (VAS) showed significant improvement (p=0.012), though gastric emptying changes were not statistically significant (P=0.059).

Conclusions:

• Prokinetic therapy, when combined with behavioral feeding recommendations, shows promise for children experiencing poor appetite and delayed gastric emptying.
• The study suggests a potential benefit of this combined approach in improving nutritional outcomes and appetite in pediatric patients.