Evaluation of short-term outcomes of geriatric palliative care patients following percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy application

INTRODUCTION: Nowadays, percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) application is the preferred minimally invasive procedure for medium- and long-term enteral feeding in patients requiring palliative care. The presented study evaluated PEG-applied geriatric (>65 years old) patients staying in our hospital palliative care unit.
METHODS: We assessed the medical data of PEG applied, by “pull” technique, >65-year-old patients from January 2019 to February 2023 in the palliative care unit of our hospital. Demographic characteristics of the patients, pre-procedure and 30th-day body weight, body mass index (BMI), serum albumin, and hemoglobin levels following PEG application were evaluated.
RESULTS: No severe PEG-related complications were observed for 30-day follow-up. The BMI difference after PEG insertion in males and females was not significant (p>0.05 and p>0.05, respectively). Furthermore, albumin increase after PEG insertion in each gender was not significant (p>0.05 and p>0.05, respectively).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Nutrition through PEG tube is a safe, easy-to-practice procedure, but the advantages of PEG usage in geriatric patients who require palliative care remain unclear despite its popular application. In general, individual selections for PEG insertion in this particular geriatric patient group should be considered to obtain a positive nutritional status.