Gastrostomy use in motor neurone disease (MND): a review, meta-analysis and survey of current practice

Amyotroph Lateral Scler Frontotemporal Degener. 2013 Mar;14(2):96-104. doi: 10.3109/17482968.2012.723722. Epub 2012 Sep 17.

Abstract

Abstract Gastrostomy feeding is commonly used to support MND patients with dysphagia. In this paper we review three main methods of gastrostomy insertion (PEG, RIG, PIG); conduct a meta-analysis of mortality data following gastrostomy; and present a survey of current practice. A review of the literature revealed a lack of high quality evidence to indicate the optimal method and timing for gastrostomy insertion in patients with MND. A survey of 20 MND clinics demonstrated a clinic-based variability of gastrostomy practices due to factors such as clinician preference, availability of method, and patient respiratory function. The meta-analysis demonstrated that the estimate of the absolute difference in mortality rates was 2.1% higher for PEG (- 6.3%, + 11.2%), suggesting that RIG and PIG methods may be safer than PEG. These results and observations highlight the need for more research to evaluate and compare the safety of the differerent gastrostomy insertion methods in MND care.

Publication types

  • Meta-Analysis
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Causality
  • Comorbidity
  • Deglutition Disorders / epidemiology*
  • Deglutition Disorders / surgery*
  • Enteral Nutrition / statistics & numerical data*
  • Gastrostomy / statistics & numerical data*
  • Humans
  • Motor Neuron Disease / epidemiology*
  • Motor Neuron Disease / surgery*
  • Practice Patterns, Physicians' / statistics & numerical data*
  • Prevalence
  • Risk Factors
  • Treatment Outcome