PERCUTANEOUS RADIOLOGIC AND ENDOSCOPIC GASTROSTOMY - A 2-YEAR EVALUATION

There are two methods of minimally invasive gastrostomy placement: rad iologic (RG) and endoscopic (PEG). In order to investigate the effecti veness of these two methods, this study examined those patients underg oing percutaneous gastrostomy at our institution from 1 July 1993 to 3 0 June 1995 (44 RG, 69 PEG). Compared to PEG, RG was a shorter procedu re (33.5 min vs 41.2 min) and required less conscious sedation. RG als o had a higher rate of technical success (100% vs 95.7%) and a lower r ate of major complications (11.4% vs 16.7%). Thirty-day mortality was similar after both procedures. These results are consistent with those from a recent meta-analysis of the literature and suggest that radiol ogic gastrostomy may have advantages over PEG.