Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Percutaneous radiological gastrostomy (PRG) is one of the techniques of choice for long-term enteral nutrition. Although safe and technically simple, it has been associated with relative morbidity and mortality.

Objective: We analyzed the results of the PRG insertion techniques with respect to morbidity and mortality, associated complications during the hospital stay, as well as nutritional results.

Methods: A cohort of 30 patients scheduled for PRG insertion from 08/2022 to 01/2023 was retrospectively evaluated. In 30 hospitalized patients, gastrostomy placement was scheduled during hospitalization in 30% (10 patients) and on an outpatient basis in 70% (20 patients). The mortality rate at one month was 16% (5 patients).

Results: We analyzed 30 PRGs in patients with a mean age of 60 (25-79) years in the referred period. 74% men and 26% women. The referral services for its implementation were Neurosurgery/Neurology, ENT, Maxillofacial and Endocrinology and other minority services. The underlying pathologies that indicated PRG were mainly neoplastic head and neck cancer, neurological diseases due to cerebrovascular disease and dementia, and patients with irreversible neurological lesions after multiple trauma. The average hospital stay of these patients was 53 days after admission. A 16F or 14F PRG tube was placed in most patients. There were no post-procedural complications, except for one case of transient paralytic ileus.

• The nutrition formulas prior to carrying out PRG corresponded to hyperprotein polymeric formulas. hypercaloric in all cases. The same nutritional formula was usually maintained at hospital discharge.• The administration of enteral nutrition by PRG was in continuous perfusion during admission with transition to gravity upon discharge in the majority of cases. In prolonged admissions, after verifying good tolerance, the condition was changed to severity.• The patients had an average BMI of 23. During the follow-up in the Nutrition consultations, 64% of the patients increased their BMI by an average of 2-4 and the remaining 26% maintained their initial BMI, with 16% (5 patients) loss of follow-up due to death.

Conclusion: The insertion of hospital PRG is a safe technique for long-term enteral nutrition, from which cancer patients or patients with neurological pathology mainly benefit, achieving maintenance or improvement of nutritional status in practically all patients through hyperprotein/hypercaloric formulas. cases, with a low rate of morbidity and mortality and associated complications.