Ear stimulation helps babies avoid feeding tubes
NCT ID NCT04849507
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tested a device that gently stimulates a nerve in the ear to help babies who have trouble feeding. The goal was to see if this stimulation, given during bottle feeds for 10 days, could help babies eat enough by mouth to avoid needing a feeding tube. The study included 17 infants who were at risk of getting a feeding tube. Some babies got the stimulation and some did not, and if no progress was made after 10 days, they could switch to the other group.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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17 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Aug 2022
- Finished
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Aug 2024
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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2 weeks to 5 months
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Infants born at any gestational age (GA), failing oral feeds after trying to learn feeding for 2 weeks if term, and 4 weeks if preterm * safe to attempt oral feeds every feed without volume limitations by occupational or speech therapists, and * clinical team is considering the need for a G-tube. Exclusion Criteria: * cardiomyopathy * unstable bradycardia * significant respiratory support * infants of poorly controlled diabetic mothers, defined by obstetrical care providers, HgbA1C\>5.6% or ketonuria.
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As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Medical University of South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina, 29425, United States