Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy: Patients’ outcomes, adequacy and quality of information given to decision-makers and procedure acceptance

AIM: We aimed to evaluate patients’ survival and complications after percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube placement, the quality of information given to the decision-makers (relatives) before the procedure and their overall acceptance of the intervention. METHODS: We interviewed the relatives of 35 patients who underwent PEG tube placement in our facility from January 2008 to December 2009, using a structured questionnaire. RESULTS: Thirty-day survival rate was 83%. The cumulative median survival was 35 (95% CI: 27.7-42.3) days and it was not related to patient’s underlying condition. No patient died due to procedure related complication. Apart from topical skin reactions (26%), major complications, such as pneumonia, diarrhea, vomiting and tube misplacement were not common (3-11%). Although 83% of the decision-makers considered that they had provided an informed decision after being given comprehensive information about the procedure, 71% said that they had not adequately been informed about alternative methods. One third of the relatives considered that the intervention met their expectations and 67% of them would recommend PEG to other patients suffering from dysphagia. However, only 26% of decision-makers would consent again for PEG tube placement for their patient, while 69% did not answer this question. CONCLUSION: Patients’ outcomes after PEG tube placement are favorable. However, several decision-makers are not satisfied with the quality of information given before informed consent while the acceptance of the intervention is not very high.