Semisolid vs Liquid Nutrients and 30-Day Readmission in Gastrostomy Tube-Fed Patients: A Propensity-Matched Analysis

Semisolid nutrients have been widely used to prevent complications related to enteral nutrition (EN) in Japan. However, there are few data on the effect of feeding semisolid nutrient preparations. We compared 30-day readmission rates of gastrostomy tube-fed patients who had been prescribed semisolid vs liquid nutrients on discharge.

This is a retrospective observational study using a Japanese nationwide inpatient database of data entered between June 2014 and March 2018. We identified patients aged ≥18 years who had received EN through gastrostomy during hospitalization. Patients were classified as having been prescribed semisolid vs liquid EN on discharge. After one-to-one propensity score matching, all-cause 30-day readmission rates were compared between the 2 groups.

In total, 5331 patients were identified, including a semisolid-nutrients group (n = 2089) and a liquid-nutrients group (n = 3242). Propensity score matching created 1912 pairs. The 30-day readmission rates were 15.6% and 13.9% in the semisolid-nutrients and liquid-nutrients groups, respectively. No significant difference was observed between the groups (risk difference, 1.7%; 95% CI, -0.6 to 4.0%; P = .14).

All-cause 30-day readmission of patients receiving gastrostomy tube feeding did not differ between those prescribed semisolid vs liquid nutrients on discharge. Randomized controlled trials are needed to accurately determine the effect of semisolid nutrients on clinical outcomes.