Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy for Enteral Nutrition

From January to October, 1986, at Wonkwang University Hospital in Iri, percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy(PEG) was attempted in 26 patients and was successful in 24. This study was designed to review the technique and to evaluate the efficacy of PEG. The mean operation time was 22 minutes (range: 14 to 42 minutes). After feeding started, early positive nitrogen balance was achieved in all patients. All gastrostomies functioned well throughout the patient’s survival with the longest functioning at 10 month. There were no procedure-related deaths, and morbidity was lower and less severe as compared with large-bore nasogastric tube feeding. Complications included minor wound infection in two patients, stomal growth in one patient, leaks around the tube in two patients, and intraperitoneal leak in one patient. No patient developed aspiration pneumonia or required laparotomy for complications from PEG. The gastrostomy tube was easily removed endoscopically when treatment was completed. Feeding via a large-bore tube increased the risk of aspiration pneumonia (72%) and the feeding cost via a small-bore tube with elemental diet exceeded that of PEG by more than tenfold. This author’s experience with these 26 patients has led to the conclusion that PEG is safe, easy to perform, and effective means of creating feeding gastrostomy without laparotomy or general anesthesia. The authors suggest that PEG be the preferred route of alimentation in those patients who are unable to swallow for prolonged periods of time.