Superiority of Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy Over Nasogastric Feeding for Stroke-Induced Severe Dysphagia: A Comparative Study

BACKGROUND: Patients with dysphagia due to stroke may require enteral feeding using either a nasogastric (NG) feeding tube or a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube. This study aimed to compare outcomes from NG tube and PEG tube feeding in 40 patients with severe dysphagia due to stroke. MATERIAL/METHODS: We enrolled 40 patients admitted to the hospital from April 2019 to December 2022 due to severe stroke dysphagia, who were divided into the gastrostomy group (20 patients) and the nasogastric feeding group (20 patients) in accordance with the random number table method. Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy was performed in both groups and we assessed differences in swallowing function, nutritional recovery, safety, and hope levels. RESULTS: Standardized Swallowing Assessment (SSA) scores in both groups clearly decreased after the intervention, but there was greater reduction in the gastrostomy group (P<0.001). Both groups had distinct improvements of the levels of a variety of nutritional indicators after the intervention, but there was greater improvement in the gastrostomy group (P<0.001). The gastrostomy group also had fewer overall complications (P<0.001). Herth Hope Scale scores in both groups were significantly increased after intervention, and the gastrostomy group had a larger increase that the nasogastric feeding group (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Compared with nasogastric tube feeding, percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy has advantages in SSA score, protein level, and Herth Hope Scale in the treatment of stroke patients with dysphagia.