Swiss medical weekly
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Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy is the preferred method for administration of long-term enteral tube feeding. Data on long-term follow-ups are rare. We report the long-term outcome and the complication rates after percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy in 165 patients (mean age 70 years). ⋯ There were 12% tube-related and 15% feeding-related late complications, the main ones being local skin infections (7.3%) and gastric perforations (1.2%). The procedure-related mortality was 0.6%. We conclude that endoscopically assisted percutaneous gastrostomy is the procedure of choice for long-term enteral nutrition in patients requiring tube-feeding.