Risk Factors for Gastrostomy Tube Placement in Single Ventricle Patients Following The Norwood Procedure

Neonates with single ventricle heart disease frequently experience poor oral feeding and inconsistent weight gain, often requiring gastrostomy tube (gtube) placement. We sought to identify risk factors for gtube placement in neonates following the Norwood procedure at our institution. We retrospectively reviewed multiple preoperative, operative, and postoperative variables in neonates <30 days with single ventricle heart disease following the Norwood procedure. Study outcomes included duration of mechanical ventilation, hospital length of stay (HLOS), and gtube requirement. Multivariable logistic regression was used to analyze for associated risk factors. Seventy-nine neonates were included in the study, of which 47 underwent gtube placement (59.5%). Multivariable regression analysis found vocal cord dysfunction (P = 0.001, odds ratio 1.1, 95% confidence interval 1.0-1.4) and longer duration of sedative or narcotic infusion (P = 0.01, odds ratio 1.1, 1.03-1.2) to be independently associated with the requirement for gtube among patients who underwent the Norwood procedure. There was a significant difference in HLOS (median 69 vs 33, P = 0.003) between the gtube and the no gtube groups. Univariate analysis comparing the era of surgery was performed and found a significant difference between the groups in terms of the number of gtubes placed (P = 0.02) and duration of sedative or narcotic infusion days (P = 0.038). Both were greater in the era from 2011 to 2015. In a single-institution analysis of neonates following the Norwood procedure, gtube requirement was independently associated with vocal cord dysfunction and longer duration of sedative or narcotic infusions. gtube placement was also associated with longer HLOS.