Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy Reduces Aspiration Pneumonia Rate in Stroke Patients with Enteral Feeding in Convalescent Rehabilitation Wards.

Objectives: The effect of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) on the prevention of aspiration pneumonia and improvements in activities of daily living (ADL) for enteral feeding-dependent stroke patients is unclear. We sought to clarify differences in the rates of aspiration pneumonia and ADL improvement between stroke patients receiving PEG and those receiving nasogastric tube feeding (NGT) in convalescent rehabilitation wards.

Methods: We assessed 10 years of data from the Kaga Regional Cooperation Clinical Pathway for Stroke, which covers patients in the southern district of Ishikawa Prefecture of Japan. Logistic regression analysis with propensity score adjustment was used to examine how the enteral feeding method affected aspiration pneumonia rates. Linear regression analysis, adjusted by propensity scores, was also performed to ascertain the effect of the enteral feeding method on ADL improvement.

Results: Overall, 47 patients with PEG and 49 patients with NGT were analyzed. The incidence of aspiration pneumonia was 4.67 times higher in the NGT group than in the PEG group in the propensity score-adjusted logistic regression analysis (odds ratio 4.67, 95% confidence interval 1.30-16.67, P=0.02). The enteral feeding method had no significant effect on ADL improvement in the propensity score-adjusted linear regression analysis.

Conclusions: In convalescent rehabilitation wards, aspiration pneumonia was more likely to occur in stroke patients with NGT than in those with PEG; however, the enteral feeding method did not affect ADL improvement. These results provide a basis for determining the appropriate enteral feeding method for stroke patients who cannot take adequate nutrition orally during convalescence/rehabilitation.