Risk factors contributing to morbidity associated with feeding tubes placed for esophageal cancer patients undergoing esophagectomy: a single-center retrospective study

Perioperative nutritional optimization of patients undergoing esophagectomy for cancer is important as this population is prone to malnutrition associated with poor outcomes. Nutritional supplementation has been achieved via enteral nutrition through percutaneous feeding tubes such as gastrostomy (G-tubes) and surgical jejunostomy tubes (J-tubes). While they are often routinely placed for patients undergoing esophagectomy, these are associated with adverse events including infections, dislodgement, increased healthcare visits, among others. The morbidity associated with feeding tubes has not been well characterized. We aim to determine factors associated with adverse outcomes after feeding tube placement to guide appropriate use of feeding tubes in esophageal carcinoma patients.