Prevalence and in-hospital mortality of gastrostomy and jejunostomy in Japan: a retrospective study with a national administrative database

BackgroundPEG is widely used; however, large-scale data for PEG have been lacking.ObjectiveTo estimate the prevalence of placement of gastrostomy and jejunostomy tubes and to elucidate the patient background characteristics and their associations with in-hospital mortality.DesignA retrospective analysis of the Japanese administrative claims database.SettingJapanese acute-care hospitals.PatientsA total of 64,219 patients who underwent gastrostomy or jejunostomy tube insertion between July and December, 2007 to 2010, were identified among 11.6 million discharge records.InterventionPlacement of gastrostomy and jejunostomy tubes.Main Outcome MeasurementsIn-hospital mortality and the associated risk factors.ResultsThe mean age was 77.4 years; >90% of patients were aged >60 years. Cerebrovascular disease and pneumonia were the most frequently recorded diagnoses, followed by neuromuscular disease and dementia. The estimated annual number of gastrostomy and jejunostomy placements in Japan ranged from 96,000 to 119,000. The in-hospital mortality was 11.9%, and the significantly associated risk factors were male sex, older age, placement of a jejunostomy tube, urgent admission, hospital with lower bed capacity, the presence of malignancy, miscellaneous diseases, pneumonia, heart failure, renal failure, chronic liver diseases, pressure sores and sepsis, and occurrence of peritonitis and/or GI perforation, GI hemorrhage, and intra-abdominal hemorrhage.LimitationsRetrospective investigation of administrative database.ConclusionOur large-scale data revealed the current status of gastrostomy tube placement in Japan. This can contribute to individual decision-making and the public consensus regarding artificial nutritional support in the elderly.