High C-Reactive Protein and Low Albumin Levels Predict High 30-Day Mortality in Patients Undergoing Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrotomy

BACKGROUND: Percutaneous endoscopic gastrotomy (PEG) enables long-term enteral feeding. The aim of this study was to identify biomarkers that may guide the decision of whether to perform the elective procedure of PEG. METHODS: The medical records of all patients who underwent PEG in our hospital from 2010 to 2016 were screened retrospectively. Patients with mortality within a 30-day follow-up period and those without were compared using the Chi-square test, and continuous variables were compared with the Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to demonstrate the ability of biomarkers to predict mortality; a cut-off point was determined and its sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were calculated. The Youden index was used to determine the cut-off point. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to identify PEG-related mortality risk factors and a Cox regression model was applied for risk characterization. RESULTS: A total of 120 patients who underwent PEG were evaluated in the study. The mean age was 67.00 ± 18.00 years. The most common indication for PEG was cerebrovascular disease, in 69 (57.5%) of the patients. Infection of the PEG site was most common within 14 days after PEG tube placement, occurring in 13 patients (10.3%). The mortality rate among patients with post-PEG infection was 68.2%, significantly higher than in patients without infection (P = 0.012). Thirty-four patients (28.3%) died within 30 days of undergoing PEG. CRP values ≥ 78.31 mg/L increased mortality by 8.756-fold, and albumin levels < 2.71 g/dL increased mortality by 2.255-fold. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that the presence of both high CRP level and low albumin level were associated with significantly higher rate of mortality (73.1%) in patients who underwent PEG.