Survival, Functional Status, and Eating Ability After Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy Tube Placement for Acute Stroke.

Objectives: To determine the long-term survival and independence of individuals with stroke and percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube placement.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: A longitudinal nationally representative community-based sample of older adults.

Participants: Individuals with stroke who had a PEG tube placed (N = 174, mean age 79, 51% female, 29% African American).

Measurements: Functional status before incident stroke was determined based on data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a national longitudinal survey of community-dwelling older adults, from 1993 to 2012. Hospitalizations for stroke and PEG placement were determined according to Medicare claims. HRS participants were interviewed, and outcomes of survivors interviewed in the 2 years after hospitalization are described. Survival and functional and eating ability of the cohort were examined. Groups were compared according to age and prestroke functional disability in activities of daily living (ADLs) because it was hypothesized that ADL disability would predict worse outcomes.

Results: In the 2 years after hospitalization, overall mortality was 66%. Fifteen participants survived and regained independent ADL function (9%). Of those who survived to a follow-up interview, 33 (56%) could not eat independently, and 31 (53%) required assistance to walk across the room. Age of 85 and older was associated with worse outcomes (10% vs 29% at 2 years, P < .001), but baseline ADL disability was not.

Conclusion: In this community-based sample, individuals who had had a stroke and a PEG tube placed had high mortality, and survivors were unlikely to be functional or mobile or to recover eating ability after hospitalization. A palliative care discussion including goals of care should occur before PEG tube placement is considered.