Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012 Jan;18(1):31-3.
doi: 10.4103/0973-1075.97346.

Feeding Tube-related Complications and Problems in Patients Receiving Long-term Home Enteral Nutrition

Vasileios Alivizatos  1 , Vasiliki Gavala, Panagiotis Alexopoulos, Alexandros Apostolopoulos, Slaja Bajrucevic
Affiliations

Feeding Tube-related Complications and Problems in Patients Receiving Long-term Home Enteral Nutrition

Vasileios Alivizatos et al. Indian J Palliat Care. 2012 Jan.

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term complications and problems related to gastrostomy and jejunostomy feeding tubes used for home enteral nutrition support and the effect these have on health care use.

Materials and methods: The medical records of 31 patients having gastrostomy (27 patients) and jejunostomy (4) feeding tubes inserted in our Department were retrospectively studied. All were discharged on long-term (>3 months) enteral nutrition and followed up at regular intervals by a dedicated nurse. Any problem or complication associated with tube feeding as well as the intervention, if any, that occurred, was recorded. Data were collected and analyzed.

Results: All the patients were followed up for a mean of 17.5 months (4-78). The most frequent tube-related complications included inadvertent removal of the tube (broken tube, plugged tube; 45.1%), tube leakage (6.4%), dermatitis of the stoma (6.4%), and diarrhea (6.4%). There were 92 unscheduled health care contacts, with an average rate of such 2.9 contacts over the mean follow-up time of 17.5 months.

Conclusion: In patients receiving long-term home enteral nutrition, feeding tube-related complications and problems are frequent and result in significant health care use. Further studies are needed to address their optimal prevention modalities and management.

Keywords: Complications; Gastrostomy; Home enteral nutrition; Jejunostomy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: None declared.

References

    1. Madigan SM, Fleming P, McCann S, Wright ME, MacAuley D. General Practitioners involvement in enteral tube feeding at home: A qualitative study. BMC Fam Pract. 2007;8:29. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Taylor CA, Larson DE, Ballard DJ, Bergstrom LR, Silverstein MD, Zinsmeister AR, et al. Predictors of outcome after percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy: A community-based study. Mayo Clin Proc. 1992;67:1042–9. - PubMed
    1. Larson DE, Burton DD, Schroeder KW, DiMagno EP. Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy. Indications, success, complications and mortality in 314 consecutive patients. Gastroenterology. 1987;93:48–52. - PubMed
    1. Raha SK, Woodhouse K. The use of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) in 161 consecutive elderly patients. Age Ageing. 1994;23:162–3. - PubMed
    1. Mensforth A, Spelding D. Discharge planning for home enteral tube feeding. Clin Nutr Update. 1998;3:8–10.