Outcomes of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy in hospitalized patients at a tertiary care center in Turkey

Background/objectives: The aim of this study was to perform a retrospective analysis characterizing patients receiving tube feeding following percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube placement between 2004 and 2012 at Erciyes University Hospital in Turkey. Subjects/Methods: Patients above the age of 18 years who required long-term enteral tube feeding were studied. All PEGs were performed using the pull-through technique by one experienced endoscopist. Demographic, clinical outcomes and PEG-related complication data were collected. Results: Of the 128 subjects studied, 91 were men (71%) and 37 were women (29%). The mean age of this patient population was 54±19 years. The most common reason for PEG tube insertion was the inability to consume oral diet due to complications of cerebrovascular disease (27%), while cerebral hypoxia, occuring after nonneurological medical disorders, was the second most common indication (23%). A total of 70 patients (55%) had chronic comorbidities, with hypertension being the most common (20%). The most common procedure-related complication was insertion-site bleeding, which occurred in 4% of patients. Long-term complications during 1 year were insertion-site cellulitis, gastric contents leakage and peristomal ulceration, which occurred in 14%, 5% and 0.5% of patients, respectively. There were no PEG insertion-related mortalities; 1-year mortality was unrelated to the indication for PEG tube insertion. Conclusions: PEG tube insertion was a safe method to provide enteral access for nutrition support in this hospitalized patient population.