Objective: Pediatric aerodigestive programs appear to be rapidly proliferating and provide multidisciplinary, coordinated care to complex, medically fragile children. Pediatric subspecialists are considered essential to these programs. This study evaluated the state of these programs in 2017 by surveying their size, composition, prevalence, and the number of patients that they serve.
Methods: The North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition Aerodigestive Special Interest Group leadership distributed an 11-question survey to the Pediatric Gastroenterology International Listserv. The mean time of the programs' existence, number of half-day clinics, number of procedure days, number of patients evaluated, and the lead primary specialty were evaluated.
Results: Thirty-four programs responded. Twenty-five were based in academic centers. Thirty-one programs were located across the United States. The average time of program existence was 5.3 years (standard deviation [SD] = 4.3; range 1-17 years). Approximately 64.7% were started in the past 5 years. Twelve programs were based in the division of gastroenterology. The average number of gastroenterologists serving aerodigestive programs was 2 (SD = 1.1). The mean number of half-day clinic sessions and procedure days were 2.8 (SD = 2.9) and 2.6 (SD = 2), respectively. New and follow-up visits per year in each program averaged 184 (SD = 168; range 10-750).
Conclusions: Pediatric aerodigestive programs are prevalent, proliferating, and serve a large number of complex patients across North America and the world. This survey demonstrated that programs are predominantly based in academic settings. The number of patients cared for by aerodigestive centers varies widely depending on size and age of program.