Factors Associated with 30-Day Mortality in Patients after Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy

INTRODUCTION: Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) is the main accepted method for long-term tube feeding. The aim of this study is to investigate the risk factors associated with early mortality after PEG. METHODS: It is a retrospective survival analysis in a tertiary-level hospital. We reviewed the medical records of 277 patients with PEG placement. The data were analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier method. Multivariable Cox proportional regression models were also built to test the effects of PEG on mortality. RESULTS: A total of 277 patients who submitted to PEG were studied. One-hundred and sixty (58%) were female, mean age of 73.3 ± 15.7 years. Ninety-three patients (33.6%) had diabetes mellitus and 165 (59.6%) had blood hypertension. The indications for PEG placement were chronic neurologic dysphagia in 247 (89.5%) patients and tumors and other diseases in 29 (10.5%). The 30 days proportional mortality probability rate was 13%. In a multivariate Cox proportional regression model, preoperative ICU hospitalization (HR 1.79, 95% CI 1.36–2.36, P = 0.000) and hemoglobin (HR 0.91, 95% CI 0.85–0.98, P = 0.015) were predictors of early mortality. CONCLUSION: In patients who had underwent PEG tube insertion for long-term nutrition, anemia and previous ICU admission were predictors of mortality at four weeks. These factors may guide physicians to discourage the indication for PEG.