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. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2011;56:1146–1148. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.