A novel gastrostomy tube anchor dressing designed to stabilize and prevent tube dislodgements.

BACKGROUND

Gastrostomy tube dislodgement in the pediatric population can be a common occurrence, ranging from 10% to 43% over the lifetime of the tube. In response, we developed a low-profile gastrostomy anchor dressing placed at the insertion site while enabling feeding port access and capturing drainage. This article describes our novel dressing: its development, useability and safety, impact on dislodgments, and patient and caregiver feedback.

METHODS

Multiple dressing design iterations were conceived until we settled on the dressing described. After initial prototype completion, laboratory shock force testing was conducted and analyzed. IRB-approved pilot clinical studies were conducted between November 2023 and December 2025. Descriptive statistics were then performed, comparing our study patient outcomes to retrospective data on patients who utilized standard dressings following gastrostomy tube placement at our institution between August 2019 and August 2024.

RESULTS

Our prototype gastrostomy tube anchor dressing exhibited improved securement, increasing the shock force needed to displace the gastrostomy tube in laboratory-based testing (p < 0.001 with or without balloon inflation). The dressing was well-received by patients and caregivers. As compared to the retrospective cohort of 755 patients, there were reduced tube dislodgements at 30 (10.7% vs 20.3%), 60 (17.9% vs 25.4%), and 90 (17.9% vs 27.8%) days postoperatively in the 28 patients who utilized the novel prototype dressing.

CONCLUSIONS

We describe a novel gastrostomy tube anchor dressing designed to reduce tube dislodgements. Our prototype dressing tested successfully and was well-liked by patients and caregivers. A finalized device and large-scale production with long-term follow-up studies are needed.