Table 1.

Comparison of patient characteristics taken at the time of first abnormal swallow study for patients treated with oral thickening versus g-tube tube feedings (n=114).

	Orally Fed (n=49)	G-tube Fed (n=65)	P*
Characteristics
Female sex	17 (35%)	32 (49%)	0.12
Hispanic (unknown for n=29)	5 (13%)	7 (16%)	0.69
White	37 (76%)	41 (63%)	0.16
Prematurity	21 (43%)	24 (37%)	0.52
Age, median (IQR), months	14.2 (8.2, 19.8)	4.8 (2.0, 15.6)	0.003
Weight, median (IQR), kilograms	10.4 (8.4, 12.2)	6.4 (4.2, 9.3)	0.0003
Weight-for-age z-score	−0.11±1.81	−1.31±2.63	0.005
Comorbidities
Gastrointestinal	48 (98%)	60 (92%)	0.23
Cardiac	6 (12%)	25 (38%)	0.002
Neurologic	20 (41%)	54 (83%)	<0.0001
Pulmonary	42 (86%)	40 (62%)	0.005
Otolaryngology	43 (88%)	15 (23%)	<0.0001
Metabolic	8 (16%)	26 (40%)	0.006
Renal	0 (0%)	11 (17%)	0.002
Immunologic	3 (6%)	1 (2%)	0.31

^*P-values calculated from Chi-square, Fisher exact, Wilcoxon rank-sum test, or Student's t-test where appropriate