Gastrostomy Tube Insertion Complications and Patient Care Outcomes in a Tertiary Care Hospital

Background Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) is a widely known procedure where an endoscopist inserts a tube through the stomach to provide enteral nutrition. The existing literature shows inconsistent results regarding complication rates, and very few studies have examined the relationship between patient characteristics and PEG outcomes. Therefore, we aimed to investigate PEG tube insertion outcomes and determine different variables associated with these outcomes. Methods This retrospective record review included 207 patients who underwent PEG tube insertion at King Abdulaziz University Hospital (KAUH), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, between 2010 and 2021. We obtained variables such as demographics, complications, and length of hospitalization. The Student t-test, chi-square test, and Mann-Whitney test were used in the data analysis. Results Of 207 patients, 106 were male (51.2%). The patient's median age was 10 years, and the median length of hospital stay was two days. The PEG-related complication rate was 32.4%, while the 1-year adverse outcome rate was 44.9%. The most common complications were unspecified fever (21.3%) and vomiting (14%). We found a significant relationship between dysphagia and length of hospitalization (P=0.015) and between age and the occurrence of tube leakage (P=0.021). Another significant relationship was found between the number of PEG insertions and gastrostomy-site infection (P=0.046). Conclusions This study's results indicate the importance of a thorough review of patients' medical records; some patient characteristics can be valuable predictors of PEG outcomes. Thus, we urge physicians to study each patient to anticipate PEG tube insertion outcomes carefully. Moreover, we recommend that researchers with access to larger patient registries study more variables to reach unified guidelines that ensure the best possible outcomes.