The safety of gastrostomy in patients with Crohn's disease.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the safety of gastrostomy tube placement in patients with Crohn's disease.


METHODS
We retrospectively reviewed the charts of 25 patients with Crohn's disease who underwent surgical or endoscopic gastrostomy tube placement. Additional follow-up information was obtained by contacting the patients by telephone.


RESULTS
Twenty-five patients with Crohn's disease underwent either surgical or percutaneous gastrostomy tube placement for prolonged enteral nutrition or gastric decompression after abdominal surgery. Gastrostomies were placed without difficulty in all cases. No major complications occurred after the procedures. Minor complications occurred in five patients, including one case of local wound infection, one case of persistent pain at the gastrostomy site, and three cases of peristomal leakage. These minor complications occurred in 22% of those who underwent percutaneous gastrostomy tube placement and 16% of those who underwent surgical gastrostomy. There was a higher incidence of minor complications in those who underwent gastrostomy for gastrointestinal decompression than in those who underwent the procedure for nutritional supplementation (14% versus 3.5%). A prior history of fistula formation did not predispose to complications related to gastrostomy placement. After gastrostomy tube removal, rapid closure of the site occurred in 96%. No cases of gastrocutaneous fistula formation occurred during follow-up, which ranged from 45 days to 8.7 yr (mean = 2.6 yr).


CONCLUSIONS
We conclude that gastrostomy placement is safe in patients with Crohn's disease and does not result in an increased incidence of peristomal disease or formation of prolonged gastrocutaneous fistulas after gastrostomy tube removal.
Mahajan
L
L
Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Ohio 44195, USA.
Oliva
L
L
Wyllie
R
R
Fazio
V
V
Steffen
R
R
Kay
M
M
D000005:Abdomen / Q000601:surgery; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000628:therapy*; D017577:Cutaneous Fistula / Q000209:etiology; D004750:Enteral Nutrition / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005747:Gastric Fistula / Q000209:etiology; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000628:therapy; D005773:Gastroscopy; D005774:Gastrostomy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000209:etiology; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000628:therapy; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012449:Safety; D013272:Stomach Diseases / Q000628:therapy; D013530:Surgical Wound Infection / Q000209:etiology; D013689:Telephone; D014945:Wound Healing