Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy--its application in patients with neurological disease.

We performed percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) in 30 patients with prolonged swallowing difficulty (> 4 weeks duration). The average procedure time was 25 minutes. PEG insertion was done on an outpatient basis in four patients. The complication rate was 10% and included failed insertion, peristomal infection and herniation of the gastric mucosa at the gastrostomy exist site. At follow-up, the PEG tube continued to function in 18/22 of the surviving patients with a median in-use time of 85 days. Seven patients died from their original disease. Over a 28-day period, the weight gain among the patients ranged from 3kg to 7kg (mean 4.5kg) and average serum albumin increased from 29g/dl to 35g/dl. This confirms that PEG is a safe, easy and effective method of long-term enteral feeding in patients with neurological disease.