Confirming Proper Replacement of Dislodged Gastrostomy Tubes in Pediatric Patients

The purpose of this study is to determine if ultrasound is a safe and reliable way to confirm the proper placement of a dislodged gastrostomy tube in a pediatric emergency department.

In the case of emergent replacement of dislodged gastrostomy tubes, the emergency department currently obtains a contrast injection of the gastrostomy tube to confirm proper replacement in patients who recently had gastrostomy surgically placed or those who require dilation/have difficult replacement as per the pediatric surgery protocol. In this study, an ultrasound (US) will be obtained by an US technician to assess if the gastrostomy tube is in the proper location. Once this study has been obtained, the patient will undergo the typical contrast injection of the gastrostomy tube to confirm placement. The sensitivity and specificity of ultrasound to the current gold standard of contrast injection will be compared.

Ultrasound (US) has the benefit of having no radiation exposure for the patient. In patients anticipated to have multiple emergency department visits a year for gastrostomy complications, using ultrasound as opposed to contrast injection may make a significant impact on accumulated radiation exposure.

The patient population will be composed of children ages 0 to 21 years that visit Le Bonheur Children's Hospital Emergency Department (Memphis, TN) for replacement of a dislodge gastrostomy tube who require contrast injection to confirm proper replacement. Once it is determined that imaging is needed to confirm replacement, the patient and legally authorized representative (LAR) will be consented for the study. The determination for contrast injection is made per protocol when gastrostomy was placed within the last 3 months or when a difficult replacement occurs (i.e. one requiring stoma dilation). A procedure checklist will be used for the provider to complete for the procedure that can be used to better evaluate the amount of attempts made to replace the tube and different methods used prior to decision to pursue contrast injection.

The LAR's will be consented for the study once they are in their private exam room in the ER. Consent, and assent when applicable, will be obtained for the study as well as discussion of risks of improper gastrostomy placement and it's risk of infection. However, this will not be deviating from the current standard of care for emergent gastrostomy replacement.

When patient goes to the radiology department, they will have an US performed by US technician who will inject Pedialyte solution through the gastrostomy and visualize fluid entering the stomach in sagittal and transverse views. These ultrasound images will not have any effect on the patient's ER course in real time and will be read by the attending radiologist the following day. Furthermore, the risk of Pedialyte injection into an improperly placed gastrostomy tube has already been discussed with pediatric surgery and radiology and is determined to be of no risk of harm to the patient as any misplaced tube would require confirmation with contrast injection at this point in time. The patient will then have contrast injection performed as per the standard of care to confirm placement and then will return to their ER exam room for further management during their visit based on the results of their contrast injection study.

Inclusion criteria

• Dislodged gastrostomy tube requiring contrast injection to confirm proper gastrostomy replacement

Exclusion criteria

• No ultrasound technician present in hospital
• Non-functioning ultrasound equipment (e.g. due to hardware issues)