Referral patterns and patient characteristics in pediatric feeding disorder care at a multidisciplinary outpatient clinic

Edward Tannenbaum; Riad Rahhal; Linda Cooper-Brown; Willow Cover; Adam Vaske; Dina Al-Zubeidi

doi:10.1002/jpr3.70237

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Referral patterns and patient characteristics in pediatric feeding disorder care at a multidisciplinary outpatient clinic

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Referral patterns and patient characteristics in pediatric feeding disorder care at a multidisciplinary outpatient clinic

Edward Tannenbaum, Riad Rahhal, Linda Cooper-Brown, Willow Cover, Adam Vaske and Dina Al-Zubeidi

JPGN reports

09/03/2026

DOI: 10.1002/jpr3.70237

PMID: 42699025

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https://doi.org/10.1002/jpr3.70237View

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Abstract

Objectives Pediatric feeding disorders (PFDs) are increasingly prevalent in the United States. Limited research has examined referral characteristics for outpatient feeding programs. This study analyzes patient referral characteristics based on referral patterns, patient demographics, and treatment interventions. Methods A retrospective cohort study was conducted of pediatric patients evaluated in a multidisciplinary outpatient feeding clinic at a tertiary pediatric academic institution from 2021 to 2024. Results We found a significant difference in the rate of referrals to our pediatric feeding program (p < 0.001), with primary care physician (PCP) referrals as the most common. There were significant differences in the rates of comorbidities (p = 0.004) and tube feeding (p < 0.001) among the referral sources, with specialist referrals associated with the highest rates and PCP referrals associated with the lowest rates. Oral aversion was common when a feeding tube was present, regardless of tube type. Conclusions Given the high rate of referrals from PCPs, there is a significant opportunity to improve resource utilization and focus efforts on feeding disorders education for referring providers. In contrast, an accelerated pathway may need to be considered for patient referrals from specialists and neonatology due to higher comorbidities and the need for feeding tubes in this referral group. In the feeding tube category, our study also suggests that there may be no difference in the rates of aversive behaviors between different types of tubes used for enteral feeding; this may help guide provider/parent decision-making during enteral access selection.

enteral nutrition

feeding tube

oral aversion

Details

Title: Subtitle: Referral patterns and patient characteristics in pediatric feeding disorder care at a multidisciplinary outpatient clinic
Creators: Edward Tannenbaum - University of Iowa
Riad Rahhal - University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Linda Cooper-Brown - University of Iowa
Willow Cover - University of Iowa
Adam Vaske - University of Iowa
Dina Al-Zubeidi - University of Iowa
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: JPGN reports
DOI: 10.1002/jpr3.70237
PMID: 42699025
NLM abbreviation: JPGN Rep
ISSN: 2691-171X
eISSN: 2691-171X
Publisher: Wiley
Language: English
Electronic publication date: 09/03/2026
Academic Unit: Pediatric Psychology; Stead Family Department of Pediatrics; Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Pancreatology, and Nutrition; Otolaryngology
Record Identifier: 9985223644602771

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