Is percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube placement safe in patients with ventriculoperitoneal shunts?
OBJECTIVE
To investigate whether percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube placement is safe in patients with ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunts.


METHODS
This was a retrospective study of all patients undergoing PEG insertion at our institution between June 1999 and June 2006. Post-PEG complications were compared between two groups according to the presence or absence of VP shunts. VP shunt infection rates, the interval between PEG placement and VP shunt catheter insertion, and long-term follow-up were also investigated.


RESULTS
Fifty-five patients qualified for the study. Seven patients (12.7%) had pre-existing VP shunts. All patients received prophylactic antibiotics. The complication rate did not differ between VP shunt patients undergoing PEG (PEG/VP group) and non-VP shunt patients undergoing PEG (control group) [1 (14.3%) vs 6 (12.5%), P = 1.000]. All patients in the PEG/VP group had undergone VP shunt insertion prior to PEG placement. The mean interval between VP shunt insertion and PEG placement was 308.7 d (range, 65-831 d). The mean follow-up duration in the PEG/VP group was 6.4 mo (range, 1-15 mo). There were no VP shunt infections, although one patient in the PEG/VP group developed a minor peristomal infection during follow-up.


CONCLUSIONS
Complications following PEG placement in patients with VP shunts were infrequent in this study.
Kim
Jin-Soo
JS
Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Uijeongbu St Mary's Hospital, Uijeongbu City, Kyunggido, South Korea.
Park
Yong-Wan
YW
Kim
Hyung-Keun
HK
Cho
Young-Seok
YS
Kim
Sung-Soo
SS
Youn
Na-Ri
NR
Chae
Hiun-Suk
HS
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005774:Gastrostomy; D006801:Humans; D007441:Intubation, Gastrointestinal / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D017287:Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt / Q000009:adverse effects*