Comparison of nasojejunal tube insertion and percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy for enteral nutrition in elderly patients

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the clinical application of enteral nutrition by nasojejunal tube insertion and by percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) in elderly patients. Methods A total of 65 elderly patients with dysphagia recruited at our department from January 2010 to November 2014 were divided into the nasojejunal tube feeding group (35 cases) and the PEG feeding group (30 cases). Differences between these two groups in nutritional indexes, immunological indexes, complications and mortality were analyzed retrospectively. Results Serum total protein, albumin and prealbumin and upper arm circumferences all increased after treatment with nasojejunal tube feeding or percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (P>0.05). There was overall improvement in nutritional status, as assessed by Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 (NRS2002). Specifically, the before/one month-after-treatment ratio of scores was 3.72±0.91/1.90±0.61 (t=7.24, P 0.05). Although improvement in CD3+ , CD4+ , CD8+ , CD4+ /CD8+ , IgA, IgG, and IgM was seen in both groups after operation, the differences did not reach statistical significance (P>0.05). The incidence of aspiration pneumonia was notably lower (P<0.05) while the incidence of diarrhea was much higher (P<0.05) in the nasojejunal tube feeding group than in the PEG feeding group at one month and three months. The two groups had similar causes of death and mortality rates. Conclusion Both nasojejunal tube and PEG feeding can improve the nutritional status of elderly patients with dysphagia. However, the choice for the route of nutrition should be individualized. Key words: Jejunostomy; Gastroscopes