Endoscopic gastrostomy, nasojejunal and oral feeding comparison in aspiration pneumonia patients

BACKGROUND: Aspiration pneumonia is a potentially preventable illness requiring attention to small details of patient care. The type, management, and care of feeding should be carried out properly. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a prospective clinical study of enteral feeding on patients admitted to hospital with aspiration pneumonia. The known enteral nutritional methods, advantages, and disadvantages were told to the patient or proxy. If they didn’t accept Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG), nasojejunal tube (NJT) was advised. If they denied all of the procedures, oral feeding education was given. A total of 94 patients were enrolled to the study, 29 of them accepted PEG, 42 preferred NJT, and 23 preferred oral route. RESULTS: A total of 94 patients with a mean age of 77.84, standard deviation 10.784; 95% confidence interval (CI) 75.63-80.03 were enrolled to the study of which 27 (28.7%) patients had a history of aspiration pneumonia. Oral feeding was prominently preferred for patients nursed by a relative (15; 65.2% of Oral feeding group and 16% of total) or a caregiver (7; 30.4% of Oral feeding group and 7.4% of total) while only 1 (4.3% of Oral feeding group and 1.1% of total) with a health-care worker (P = 0.001). Overall re-aspiration rates at the 6(th) month were 58%, 78%, 91% in EG, NJT, oral groups, respectively. Sixth months’ survival rates of the different feeding groups were not significantly divergent from each other. History of aspiration was also found to be a significant contributor of mortality. CONCLUSION: In aspiration pneumonia patients’ long-term survival rates of the different feeding groups were not significantly divergent from each other.