Temporary percutaneous and permanent gastric electrical stimulation in children younger than 3 years with chronic vomiting.

BACKGROUND

The aim was to investigate whether young children with drug-refractory nausea and vomiting can be treated with gastric electrical stimulation (GES) in a similar way as adults and to evaluate whether temporary percutaneous gastric electrical stimulation (TPGES) can be used in the pediatric population to select the patients who are responders to GES treatment. We report the clinical results in 3 children between 2 and 3 years of age. To the best of our knowledge, these are the youngest patients treated with GES.

METHODS

Three patients younger than 3 years with intractable vomiting underwent TPGES. Custom-made leads were percutaneously implanted in the gastric wall under gastroscopic guidance. Symptoms were recorded daily during the TPGES stimulation time (12-40 days). Responders were offered permanent GES treatment.

RESULTS

There were no technical problems. All 3 patients were responders to TPGES. They are now treated with surgically implanted permanent GES and reported greater than 50% vomiting reduction at last visit.

CONCLUSION

Children younger than 3 years can be treated with GES in a similar way as adolescents and adults. Temporary percutaneous GES is a safe, feasible technique even in small children, with the possibility to perform the test over several weeks to select responders to GES treatment.