[Applicability of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy for enteral nutrition]

As the structure of social changes, there is new attention given to emerging methods of home medical care. In addition to decreasing daily costs and the number of patients admitted to hospital, a patient can receive treatment at home, on the tatami where he feels comfortable. Is this not the ultimate goal of medicine? As a result of home care, a patient's quality of life can be improved, a great step for medicine. A growing option for home feeding system is administration of HEN (home enteral nutrition). Use of HEN will likely increase in the future, however, many problems associated with prescriptions and administrative systems need to be addressed. In this article, the clinical merits and drawbacks associated with PEG (percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy), a new approach rapidly gaining acceptance will be examined.