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
Observational Study
. 2022 Nov;146(5):578-585.
doi: 10.1111/ane.13683. Epub 2022 Aug 16.

Slow vital capacity as a useful indicator of the prognosis after percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Tatsuya Ueno  1 , Rie Haga  1 , Akira Arai  1 , Masahiko Tomiyama  2
Affiliations
Observational Study

Slow vital capacity as a useful indicator of the prognosis after percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Tatsuya Ueno et al. Acta Neurol Scand. 2022 Nov.

Abstract

Objectives: Forced vital capacity (FVC) is recommended as a respiratory function test in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). However, in ALS associated with orofacial palsy, FVC may be an unreliable test. Slow vital capacity (SVC) is an easier and more reliable test even in cases with bulbar symptoms. However, it remains unclear whether respiratory function tests using SVC and FVC are associated with prognosis after percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) placement. This study aimed to confirm whether both SVC and FVC are related to prognosis after PEG placement in patients with ALS.

Materials and methods: We conducted this retrospective observational cohort study of 69 consecutive patients diagnosed with sporadic ALS who underwent PEG placement between July 2007 and February 2020. We analyzed the association with mortality 6 months after PEG placement and evaluated long-term prognosis.

Results: Forty-four patients met the inclusion criteria. In cases with decreased SVC (p < .01) and FVC (p < .01), a significant difference was observed in mortality 6 months after PEG placement, with an optimal cut-off of SVC ≤57.4% (sensitivity, 0.828; specificity, 0.867) and FVC ≤57.3% (sensitivity, 0.828; specificity, 0.867). Multivariate analysis showed that onset age ≥ 65 years (p < .05), SVC ≤57.4% (p < .01), and FVC ≤57.3% (p < .01) were associated with survival after PEG placement.

Conclusions: SVC, like FVC, is an important prognostic factor after PEG placement in patients with ALS, and there is a possibility that evaluation using SVC can complement respiratory function testing even in cases where the evaluation of FVC is limited.

Keywords: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; forced vital capacity; percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy; prognosis; slow vital capacity.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

REFERENCES

    1. Goutman SA. Diagnosis and clinical management of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and other motor neuron disorders. Continuum (Minneapolis, Minn). 2017;23:1332-1359.
    1. Barone M, Viggiani MT, Introna A, et al. Nutritional prognostic factors for survival in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients undergone percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy placement. Amyotroph Lateral Scler Frontotemporal Degener. 2019;20:490-496.
    1. Pena MJ, Ravasco P, Machado M, et al. What is the relevance of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy on the survival of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis? Amyotroph Lateral Scler. 2012;13:550-554.
    1. ProGasStudyGroup. Gastrostomy in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ProGas): a prospective cohort study. Lancet Neurol. 2015;14:702-709.
    1. Bond L, Ganguly P, Khamankar N, et al. A comprehensive examination of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy and its association with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patient outcomes. Brain Sci. 2019;9:223.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources