Common food allergen education and exposure in infants with feeding tubes: A single‐center retrospective study highlighting an educational gap
Nicole Misner, Michelle Yavelow, Panida Sriaroon, Athanasios Tsalatsanis, Racha T. KhalafAbstract
Background
The timing of allergenic food introduction is a recognized modifiable risk factor for the development of IgE‐mediated food allergy. There is a paucity of data on the implementation of early introduction of common food allergens in infants fed via feeding tubes. We aimed to compare the characteristics and common food allergen exposure of patients with feeding tubes who received education during their gastroenterology visit versus those who did not.
Methods
We conducted a retrospective chart review of patients aged 4 to 24 months with a feeding tube between September 2020 and July 2024. Differences between patients who received education for common food allergen exposure and those who did not were analyzed using Student's t‐test for continuous variables and chi‐square test for categorical variables.
Results
Seventy‐seven patients met the inclusion criteria, contributing a total of 349 visits. Education was associated with younger age ( p = 0.01), atopic dermatitis ( p = 0.02), English as the primary language ( p = 0.02), and non‐Hispanic/Latino ethnicity ( p < 0.001). Education was frequently missed in infants wholly reliant on their feeding tube ( p = 0.01). Although caregivers reported exposure to at least one common food allergen in 63% of all visits, documented exposure to the key allergens, peanut (8%) and egg (12%), was notably low.
Conclusions
These findings suggest the need for improved and targeted education. Future research may aim to establish evidence‐based guidelines for introducing allergenic foods to infants fed via feeding tube.