Prospective evaluation of Foley catheter as a replacement gastrostomy tube

Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy provides a nonsurgical alternative to enteral feeding. However, the percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube may deteriorate, malfunction, or be accidentally expelled from the stomach, requiring replacement. This prospective study was performed to evaluate the use of an all silicone Foley catheter (Foley) as a replacement feeding gastrostomy in 28 patients requiring replacement gastrostomy. A plastic ring and a retention disc were always placed over the Foley prior to replacement. Foley functioned well without replacement in 19 (68%) patients for a mean of 167 days. It needed to be replaced in nine (32%) patients due to malfunction after a mean of 138 days. Lack of migration of Foley was the most striking finding of our study, in contrast to case reports in the literature. These data suggest that Foley can be safely used as replacement gastrostomy tube. A randomized controlled trial comparing the Foley catheter as a replacement tube with other commercially available devices is needed.