Clinical outcome after percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy in children with malignancies.

Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomies (PEG) are little-used in pediatric oncology. We evaluated complications and efficacy of PEGs in children with malignancies in a retrospective case series. Outcome measures were infection and weight gain. Sixteen PEGs were inserted in 14 patients (mean age 10.3 years; SD 5.6). Sixteen wound infections occurred in nine children (3.7 episodes/1,000 days). Mean weight-for-age z-score fell from diagnosis to PEG placement (-0.68 (SD 1.2) to -1.32 (SD 1.26); P < 0.001) but stabilized afterward. Two (12%) were removed early. PEG placement reversed early weight loss and infectious complications did not usually lead to early PEG removal.