[Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy: a 7 years experience long-term tube feeding. Follow-up]

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 follow-up 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 have on our series. We analyze a cohort of 73 patients submitted 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 lead to improved nutritional parameters before lung transplant. In consequence, we therefore analyze patients' selection and their characteristics, the ethical and moral implications in some of these patients, such in neurological patients, their complications, mortality, and we mention as being of interest the transient and well tolerated indication in a subgroup of CF patients that deserves special mention.