title: Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) in critically ill patients performed at bed in Intensive Care Unit: report of our experience.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Patients with severe brain injures and severe neurological diseases frequently require prolonged nutritional support during their hospitalization as well as during their rehabilitation period. Since 1980, the percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) has become the method of choice for long term feeding. The aim of the present study was to present our experience concerning the placement of PEG in critically ill patients, recovered in Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
  
  
  METHODS
  From 3-05-2001 to 28-09-2005, 36 patients (13 female, 23 male) with a median age of 63 years [range: 18-86 years], recovered in ICU of the Sandro Pertini Hospital, underwent PEG. These patients were retrospectively evaluated in terms of complications, indications to the procedures, durability of gastrostomy and mortality. Intravenous antibiotic prophylaxis was administered 1 h before the procedure (ceftriaxone 2gr). The entire PEG was placed in ICU at patient's bed, with the assistance of the anaesthetist. Propofol was used e.v. for sedation and fentanest for analgesia while lidocaine was used for local anesthesia. A 16-Fr or 20-Fr tube was inserted by the "pull method", after a complete upper gastroduodenoscopy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  PEG was performed mainly for neurological disorders including cerebrovascular accidents (13), SLA (8), post-traumatic coma (7), post-cardiac arrest coma (7) and dementia (1). Procedure related mortality was 0%. The tube was changed in 4 patients due to clogging. The durability of the tube was a median of 2 months (range: 1-12 months). In 23 patients the placement of the PEG was definitive.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our experience underlines that PEG, in selected critically ill patients, is a safe technique easy to perform even in ICU.
authors.affiliation: Unità di Gastroenterologia ed Endoscopia Digestiva, Ospedale Sandro Pertini, Roma, Italia.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zippi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fiorani
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: De Felici
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Febbraro
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mattei
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Traversa
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Barbaro
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Scafetti
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Occhigrossi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016638:Critical Illness; D005260:Female; D005773:Gastroscopy / Q000379:methods; D005774:Gastrostomy / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019095:Point-of-Care Systems; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult