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Background
Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) is widely accepted as the preferred procedure to establish long-term enteral feeding.
Objective
To learn the long-term outcomes of the patients who have undergone PEG placement, we reviewed our experience with children who underwent this procedure in our institute.
Methods
A total of 83 pediatric patients (42 males and 41 females), who were aged from 3 months to 20 years, underwent PEG insertion in National Taiwan University Hospital from January 2000 to April 2011. The underlying diseases of the patients receiving PEG were neurological dysfunction (n?=?67), metabolic disorders (n?=?9), gastrointestinal disease (n?=?2), and congenital heart disease (n?=?1). This procedure was performed under intravenous sedation or under general anesthesia. Prophylactic antibiotics were administered for 1 day. Tube feeding began 24 hours after the PEG placement. The body weight of the patients was recorded 1 day before PEG placement and at least 6 months after PEG placement.
Results
The weight-for-age Z-score before and at 6 months after PEG placement were ?1.5?¡À?2.0 and ?0.9?¡À?2.1, respectively, which was statistically significant (paired t test, p?=?0.006). The catch-up growth was recorded after PEG placement. Complications of PEG in our patients included cellulitis at the gastrostomy wound (n?=?14), dislodgement of the tube (n?=?17), and persistent gastrocutaneous fistula (n?=?3). The PEG tube was removed permanently in seventeen patients because they resumed an adequate oral intake. During the follow-up period, 14 patients died of an underlying disease or infection.
Conclusion
Our experience confirmed that PEG placement is a good long-term route for nutritional supply with no serious complications in children.
