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[Long-term usefulness and late complications of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy]
A Farca Belsaguy1, C Chávez García, F Presenda Miller
1Servicio de Gastroenterología, Hospital General Dr. Manuel Gea González SSA, México, D.F.
Objective:
To investigate the usefulness of endoscopic gastrostomy and long-term complications.
Background Data:
Endoscopic gastrostomy is well established as the procedure of choice for long-term feeding, given the low morbidity-mortality and ease of placement.
Method:
We evaluated retrospectively one hundred endoscopically placed gastrostomy feeding tubes and complications occurring more than 30 days after placement were recorded.
Results:
Gastrostomy feeding tubes remained in place for a mean of 92 days (range 30-547 days). Fifteen percent developed evident gastroesophageal reflux, two patients developed aspiration pneumonia and one presented with infection at the site of gastrostomy. Our long-term complications rate thus was 3.0% and 0% mortality.
Conclusions:
Our experience suggests that endoscopic gastrostomy is a relatively simple procedure, associated with very low morbidity and mortality. It is the procedure of choice in patients requiring long-term enteral nutrition.