Outcomes of stroke patients undergoing percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (P.E.G.) is recommended for stroke patients with dysphagia to sustain oral nutrition.

Objective: This study assesses the outcomes of stroke patients undergoing P.E.G. compared with those requiring nasogastric tube (N.G.T) or control group.

Methods: We performed a thorough search across five electronic databases to gather pertinent studies. Outcomes were analyzed using relative risk (R.R.) for categorical data and mean difference (M.D.) for continuous data, each with 95% confidence intervals (C.I.). The single-arm meta-analysis results were presented as proportions or mean changes, also with 95% C.I.

Results: We included 22 studies consisting of 996,567 patients. Our double-arm meta-analysis (924,134 patients) revealed no significant difference in post-hospitalization or in-hospital mortality between P.E.G. and control groups. However, P.E.G. patients showed a higher risk of aspiration pneumonia than control (R.R. = 11.72[3.75, 36.62],  < 0.00001). A comparison of P.E.G. and N.G.T. in three studies involving 691 patients indicated a non-significant difference in-hospital mortality risk (R.R. = 0.59, 95% C.I. [0.2, 1.72]). The single-arm analysis of stroke patients with P.E.G. identified a 19.8% in-hospital mortality, 13.6% rate of aspiration pneumonia, and 58% rate of pneumonia.

Conclusion: Stroke patients undergoing P.E.G remain at high risk for aspiration pneumonia and with an in-hospital mortality suggesting the need for identifying the best candidates and timing for the procedure.