title: Endoscopically guided placement of nasogastric tubes in patients with esophageal carcinoma with absolute dysphagia: report of a 3-year experience.
abstract: Esophageal cancer often leads to total or near-total dysphagia, necessitating placement of nasogastric tubes for nutritional support. In patients with failed blind intubation or even failed fluoroscopic-guided tube placement, endoscopic guidance has a role to play. The catheter-over-guidewire technique is simple, safe, and easy to use. Over a period of 3 years, it was used in 28 patients who had esophageal cancer with absolute dysphagia. Successful placement of Levin tubes was achieved in 21 (75%) of these patients. Failure was more common in upper third lesions. The procedure was done on an outpatient basis, and no procedure-related complications were recorded in this series. To summarize, endoscopically assisted nasogastric tube placement is a useful option in esophageal cancer when blind intubation has failed, and it should be considered in preference to fluoroscopic assistance if endoscopic facilities are available.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Oncology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi.
authors.forename: N K
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Shukla
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Goel
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Seenu
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nanda
authors.forename: S V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Deo
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Kriplani
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000553:Ambulatory Care; D003680:Deglutition Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000209:etiology; D016099:Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007441:Intubation, Gastrointestinal / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009748:Nutrition Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*