Quand faut-il poser une gastrostomie percutanée endoscopique chez un sujet âgé ?

To put a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) in an elderly patient is often a difficult decision. In some cases good evidence exists in the literature, suggesting that PEG and enteral nutrition may have a positive (dysphagia after stroke, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, head and neck cancer) or a negative (dementia) effect on outcome. Every time, questions on the goals of nutrition support should be clearly asked and discussed with the patient and/or his/her family/caregivers in order to evaluate the risks/benefits ratio of the treatment. Evaluation of the effects of home enteral nutrition on quality of life is certainly necessary.