Search

Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) is the first choice method for long-term enteral feeding when the digestive tube is undamaged and the patients' survival is longer than 2 months. There are increasing series and indications reported and although it is a safe technique we should take into account an appropriate patient selection. The aim of this work was to analyze the followup of the patients undergoing percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) at a hospital with high assistance level and one of the referents for organ transplantation in our community, with the peculiarities that this may imply for our series. We analyze a cohort of 73 patients subject to PEG during the years 2000-2007 at the Reina Sofía Hospital of Córdoba. Neurological and ENT neoplasms and upper GI tract neoplasms are among the most frequent causes, with similar results to those reported in other series. We highlight the number of young patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) in our series with nutritional support through PEG complementing oral and nocturnal feeding, which has led to improved nutritional parameters before lung transplant. In consequence, we therefore analyze patient selections and their characteristics, the ethical and moral implications for some of these patients, such as neurological patients, their complications, and mortality, and we mention as being of interest the transient and well tolerated indication in a subgroup of CF patients that deserves special mention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]