2023 Volume 5 Issue 1 Pages 3-10
Aim: The primary aim of the study was to investigate the incidence of gastroesophageal reflux in patients receiving percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) and to select the appropriate access site for enteral nutrition based on contrast examination by gastrostomy.
Subjects and Methods: The subjects were 158 patients who underwent PEG at our hospital between May 2016 and July 2021. X-ray studies were performed after injection of 250 mL of contrast medium by gastrostomy on day 1 of PEG. Gastrostomy was switched to PEG-J in patients with gastroesophageal reflux to the upper and middle thoracic esophagus.
Result: Gastroesophageal reflux to the upper and middle thoracic esophagus was observed in 37 cases (23.4%) and to the lower thoracic esophagus in 5 cases (3.2%). Reconstruction by PEG-J was performed in 33 cases. Vomiting occurred after PEG in 4 cases in the gastrostomy group and none in the PEG-J group. Pneumonia occurred within 3 months after PEG in 31 cases (24.8%) in the gastrostomy group and 9 (27.3%) in the PEG-J group. There were no differences in early mortality and long-term survival between gastrostomy and PEG-J cases.
Conclusion: The incidence of pneumonia after PEG was not increased by performing PEG-J reconstruction, even in patients with probable gastroesophageal reflux. This suggests that it is important to perform examinations such as gastrography to select appropriate enteral nutrition access in patients undergoing PEG.
