• Adrienne Sulistyo, Agessandro Abrahao, Maria Eliza Freitas, Benjamin Ritsma, and Lorne Zinman.
• Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
• Cochrane Db Syst Rev. 2023 Aug 10; 8 (8): CD004030CD004030.

BackgroundMaintaining adequate nutrition is critical for people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND). Enteral tube feeding is offered to people experiencing difficulty swallowing (dysphagia) to prevent weight loss and aspiration pneumonia. Among the types of enteral tube feeding, percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) is the typical procedure offered to people with ALS and will be mainly discussed here.ObjectivesTo examine the effectiveness of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy or other enteral tube feeding in people with ALS, compared to oral feeds without enteral tube feeding on: 1. survival; 2. nutritional status; 3. quality of life. To examine the incidence of minor and major complications of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) and other enteral tube feeding procedures in people with ALS.Search MethodsOn 3 January 2020 and 6 February 2021, we searched the Cochrane Neuromuscular Specialised Register, CENTRAL, MEDLINE. Embase, ClinicalTrials.gov and WHO ICTRP. We screened the results to identify randomized controlled studies on enteral tube feeding in ALS. We reviewed all references from the search in published articles to identify any additional references.Selection CriteriaWe included randomized controlled trials (RCTs), quasi-RCTs, and cross-over trials evaluating the effectiveness and complications of PEG or other enteral tube feeding placement in ALS.Data Collection And AnalysisWe used standard methodological procedures expected by Cochrane.Main ResultsWe found no RCTs or quasi-RCTs comparing the effectiveness of enteral tube feeding versus oral feeds without enteral tube feeding.Authors' ConclusionsThere are no RCTs or quasi-RCTs to indicate whether enteral tube feeding is effective compared to continuation of oral feeding for any of the outcome measures. Such RCTs are very unlikely to be performed for ethical reasons. RCTs evaluating the effect of different enteral tube insertion techniques and timings of tube placement on survival and quality of life of people with ALS dysphagia are feasible and warranted.Copyright © 2023 The Cochrane Collaboration. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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