[Favorable results of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy in children in need of long-term tube feeding].

Objective: Analysis of indications, weight and peroperative and postoperative complications in 32 consecutive children who underwent percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG).

Design: Retrospective.

Setting: Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Method: Survey of medical records.

Results: In 26 children the indication for PEG was necessity of prolonged tube feeding on account of severe psychomotor retardation. The 6 others had no such retardation and had various indications. Mean hospital stay was 6.7 days, median 6 days. Three patients had immediate postoperative complications: two had leakage, one infection. In 22 patients there were no late complications. One patients died following status epilepticus. One patient had a late peritonitis, and two others gastroesophageal reflux severe enough to require surgical intervention. Six patients had mild long-term complications, mainly infectious. All children showed improvement of weight for length.

Conclusion: The PEG procedure is well-tolerated, effective way of tube feeding in children, with a relatively low complication rate.