Food going into lungs

Hi,
My son came back from the pulmo on friday. The pulmo suggested that he thinks that Daniel might be getting food into his lungs. Daniel has been trached since April 15th of 2002. He eats by mouth pretty well. He has a diet of finely purried (spelling?) food and pedisure. No tests were done to dtermine if in fact this is the case. The doctor is going on the highest percentage of as to why he thinks daniel has been aspirating. Right now he is back om 5 liters @28% o2. He also thinks that he might be sicker that the last time he saw him which was 3 months ago. He suggested Daniel be feed most of the time by his g tube. THis would be a mjor set back for Daniel especially since the doctor is going on a whim and not by anything factual. (Daniel is not home, but in a rehab hospital.)

I want to hear a second opinion before I just accept the fact of what the doctor is saying.....

[Laurie]

I suggest a video swallow study - this will help confirm if there is aspiration. My son was also eating by mouth, and having issues with frequent wheezing. We knew from a video swallow study that he had swallowing problems with thin liquids, and so were feeding him thickened formula, but were often feeding him his bottle when he was very sleepy. Once we switched to mostly G-tube feeding and giving bottles only when he was wide awake, his wheezing cleared up and his O2 requirements came down a lot. A pH probe might also give you some idea if he is refluxing, which some kids then end up aspirating. Good luck.

[Jacks Mum]

Hi,
You should have a barium shallow study done, for sure.
especially if the doctor thinks it may be the case, I would rather be safe then sorry and feed through the G-tube for now, as long term aspirating can cause lung disease..
I know its a set back, but youll be back there asap

[Karen S.]

I would definitely recommend a swallow study or at least a chest x-ray for now to determine whether food is getting into his lungs.

Hannah went through a similar issue when she was 2 months old. I noticed while feeding her at the hospital that her Sats would drop into the high 80s while bottle feeding and the nurses told me that was normal. I consulted with the doctor later that day and she ordered a swallow study and sure enough, she was aspirating. They called it "silent aspirating". She never gave any signs of wheezing, gagging, etc. We fed her only by Gtube for a few months, then resumed bottle feeding with thicken formula (either with rice or a product called "Thick It".)

Hannah was born with poor muscle tone (now at 2 1/2 yrs, you would never guess it) and her doctor told me that this affects all muscles, including ones that are used to assist in swallowing. With her swallow study, they determined that her uvela (thing hanging in back of throat) was not doing what it was supposed to do. With therapy from her OT, she improved within months. At 12 months old she was taking everything by mouth so we ordered another swallow study. She showed not signs of aspirating and we removed her Gtube.

Stick to your gut feeling on this one and consult with another doctor or demand a test to confirm this doctors "whim".

Good luck and keep us posted.