Utility of pre-procedural CT and abdominal radiography before percutaneous radiologic gastrostomy placement.

Purpose: To evaluate the utility of pre-procedural CT and abdominal radiography before percutaneous radiologic gastrostomy tube placement.

Methods: A retrospective review of gastrostomy tube placements was conducted at a tertiary care radiology department. During the studied period, all percutaneous radiologic G-tube placements (PRG) at the institution required a pre-procedural abdominal CT. Whether the CT was interpreted to have an adequate window for PRG was recorded. The same patients with pre-procedural abdominal radiographs were also identified and retrospectively reviewed for the presence of satisfactory anatomy for PRG. Outcomes of tube placements were reviewed.

Results: 126 PRG requests were identified, all with abdominal CTs. 110 also had an abdominal radiograph. An adequate window for PRG was present in 83% of patients by CT and 73% by radiography. Of patients in whom it was attempted, 94% underwent successful PRG with a 7.4% minor complication rate. Of those refused for PRG based on CT, 9% had successful percutaneous endoscopic G-tube placement, resulting in a sensitivity of 98%. 97% of patients with satisfactory anatomy by radiograph underwent successful PRG. Of those with no window, 66% had a window by CT, and 94% in whom it was attempted had successful PRG placement. This resulted in a sensitivity of 77% for radiography. Concordance between CT and radiography was 73%.

Conclusions: Pre-procedural CT interpretation is highly predictive of successful and uncomplicated PRG. Abdominal radiography also predicts successful PRG, but with a lower accuracy, limiting its utility as a pre-procedural exam.