Premium
Is short‐term percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube placement beneficial in acutely ill cognitively intact elderly patients? A proposed decision‐making algorithm
Author(s) -
Abraham Rtika R,
Girotra Mohit,
Wei Jeanne Y,
Azhar Gohar
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
geriatrics and gerontology international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.823
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1447-0594
pISSN - 1444-1586
DOI - 10.1111/ggi.12316
Subject(s) - percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy , medicine , malnutrition , parenteral nutrition , gastrostomy , enteral administration , feeding tube , failure to thrive , intensive care medicine , disease , peg ratio , pediatrics , surgery , economics , finance
Aim P ercutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy ( PEG ) tube is an important method of enteral feeding for patients who require temporary or long‐term artificial nutritional support to prevent or correct disease‐related malnutrition. However, there is paucity of data on the utility of short‐term PEG tube placements in acute illnesses in cognitively intact older adults. Methods We present a series of seven, cognitively intact patients (age range 72–93 years), who had PEG tubes placed for short periods. These patients were diagnosed with “failure to thrive” and were managed by placing a PEG tube temporarily for nutritional management. None of these patients had terminal illness or hospice eligibility, and all of the patients were community dwellers. Results All of the elderly patients experienced good outcomes in terms of their functional status and nutritional support. Conclusions Our series clearly supports the notion that short‐term PEG tube placement in cognitively intact elderly patients could be a successful strategy to support them during an episode of acute illness, and to improve their nutritional deficits and survival. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2015; 15: 572–578.